Pereira, Cicero RobertoÁlvaro Estramiana, José LuisVala, Jorge2023-12-212023-12-212018Pereira, C. R., Álvaro, J. L., & Vala, J. (2018). The ego-defensive role of legitimacy: how threat-based justifications protect the self-esteem of discriminators. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44(10), 1473–1486. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672187710070146-167210.1177/0146167218771007https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/91662This article analyzes the ego-defensive role played by legitimation, by examining the hypothesis that threat-based justifications attenuate the negative effect on an individual’s self-esteem caused by his or her becoming aware of his or her own discriminatory behavior. Across three studies (including a pilot experiment), participants who were led to believe that they had acted in a discriminatory way experienced a decrease in their self-esteem. In Study 1 ( N = 116), this effect was nullified when discrimination was justified by either symbolic or realistic threat perceptions. Study 2 ( N = 250) replicated this pattern of results and went further by showing that discrimination affects self-esteem only in more egalitarian individuals, whereas for those less egalitarian, it affects their social image. According to the ego-defensive role of legitimation, a meta-analytical integration of the results confirmed that the influence of discrimination in depressing self-esteem is moderated by threat-based justifications.engjournal article1552-7433https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218771007restricted accessDiscriminationLegitimacySelf-esteemThreat perceptionEgalitarianismCiencias Sociales6114 Psicología Social