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Consistent with social dominance theory (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999), research has shown that even random assignment in a dominant social position leads to more prejudice against subordinate groups. Should one conclude that a dominant social position automatically generates a tendency to endorse legitimizing ideologies? We argue that the effects of social dominance on legitimizing ideologies vary in a systematic manner as a function of the normative environment into which people find themselves. Research in a field setting ( N = 1221) and in a laboratory setting ( N = 148) provide supports for this hypothesis. Consistent with previous research, social dominance leads to a greater endorsement of legitimizing ideologies in a hierarchy-enhancing normative environment. However, in a hierarchy-attenuating normative environment, this effect of social dominance is totally reduced. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed in relations to recent work on power and social dominance.