Why Is the Lack of Support for Women's Rights Appealing? Considering the Roles of Dispositional System-Justifying Motives and Ambivalent Sexism

Abstract

Although the women's rights movement has made various gains in recent years, there are many negative attitudes toward women and their rights in Turkey. This study aimed to examine the relationship between dispositional system-justifying motives and tendency to support women's rights and to test the mediating role of sexist attitudes in this relationship. A total of 530 Turkish adults participated in the online study, with a mean age of 26.20 years (SD = 5.56). The results show that people with high system justification motivation (including dispositional system-justifying motives, high death anxiety, low need for cognition, and high need for recognition) indicated stronger ambivalent sexism toward women (including hostile and benevolent sexist attitudes). In turn, people with ambivalent sexist attitudes had less willingness to support women's rights (considering attitudes toward women's disadvantaged position in society and awareness and support for the Istanbul Convention). © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.