DOI: 10.1177/02134748261483950 ISSN: 0213-4748

Motivational Underpinnings of Honor Ideology: Prevention Focus, Honor Endorsement, and Honor-Based System Justification / Fundamentos motivacionales de la ideología del honor: enfoque en la prevención, defensa de los códigos de

Gülçin Akbaş, Nuray Sakallı

Honor ideologies are sustained by gendered cultural systems, yet their motivational underpinnings remain understudied. Drawing on Regulatory Focus Theory (Crowe & Higgins, 1997) and System Justification Theory (Jost & Banaji, 1994), this study examined (1) whether prevention-focused self-regulation is associated with honor endorsement and honor-based system justification in Türkiye, an honor culture context, and (2) whether these associations vary by gender. Participants were 461 undergraduate students (256 women, 205 men; M age  = 20.45, SD  = 1.73). Results indicated that prevention focus was positively associated with both honor endorsement and honor-based system justification. Although men justified the honor system and endorsed honor beliefs more, gender did not moderate the association between prevention focus and honor-related beliefs. Mediation analyses showed that honor endorsement statistically accounted for the association between prevention focus and honor-based system justification, although alternative ordering models also yielded significant indirect effects. Findings highlighted prevention-focused self-regulation as a motivational correlate of both internalization and legitimization of honor norms, along with the conceptual proximity of honor-related constructs.