A theory that stable societies and social groups tend to organize hierarchically around status, power and economic opportunity, without any formalized acknowledgment. People in the higher level of the hierarchy have advantages over those in the lower levels, including access to jobs, health care and education. The theory attempts to explain how and why people divide themselves, or are divided by society and how this division reinforces discrimination such as racism, ageism and sexism.
Citations: Keene, B. M. (2020). Social dominance theory. Salem Press encyclopedia.
Sidanius, J., & Pratto, F. (2001). Social dominance: an intergroup theory of social hierarchy and oppression. Cambridge UP.