Nicola, Raluca (2025) Understanding Support for Affirmative Action: Investigating the Interaction Effect of Political Orientation and Network Inequality Exposure. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
Understanding the interplay of contextual, relational, and ideological factors in predicting support for affirmative action (AA) is essential for identifying the drivers of social change, especially in light of rising inequality in the European Union. This study aims to examine how indirect exposure to systemic inequalities in one’s social network, referred to as network inequality exposure, interacts with political orientation to shape support for AA. A total of 258 EU citizens were recruited through snowball sampling and surveyed about their sociopolitical beliefs, with an emphasis on systemic inequalities. Results indicated that political orientation negatively predicted AA support, whereas network inequality exposure alone had a non-significant effect. The interaction between political orientation and network inequality exposure was significant only in the case of center-to-right-leaning individuals, who increased their support for AA when exposed to higher levels of network inequality, highlighting the importance of both ideological orientation and contextual exposure in shaping attitudes toward AA. Limitations, theoretical and practical implications, and suggestions for future research are discussed. Keywords: Affirmative Action (AA), General Government Policies, Systemic Inequalities, Network Inequality Exposure, Political Orientation, Left-wing, Right-wing, Social Change, EU Citizens, Socio-political Beliefs
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
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| Supervisor name: | Al-Amine, M. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Jul 2025 07:18 |
| Last Modified: | 10 Jul 2025 07:18 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5411 |
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