Political conservatism as motivated social cognition.

Full Abstract

Analyzing political conservatism as motivated social cognition integrates theories of personality (authoritarianism, dogmatism-intolerance of ambiguity), epistemic and existential needs (for closure, regulatory focus, terror management), and ideological rationalization (social dominance, system justification). A meta-analysis (88 samples, 12 countries, 22,818 cases) confirms that several psychological variables predict political conservatism:
death anxiety (weighted mean r = .50); system instability (.47); dogmatism-intolerance of ambiguity (.34); openness to experience (-.32); uncertainty tolerance (-.27); needs for order, structure, and closure (.26); integrative complexity (-.20); fear of threat and loss (.18); and self-esteem (-.09). The core ideology of conservatism stresses resistance to change and justification of inequality and is motivated by needs that vary situationally and dispositionally to manage uncertainty and threat.

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Author information

Author/s: Jost, John T (JT); Glaser, Jack (J); Kruglanski, Arie W (AW); Sulloway, Frank J (FJ);

Affiliation: Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, California 94305, USA. jost_john(-atsign-)gsb.stanford.edu

Grants: F32-MH12195 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; K05-MHO 1213 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; R01-MH52578 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.; Review

Journal: Psychological bulletin (Psychol Bull), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-May; vol 129 (issue 3) : pp 339-75

Dates: Created 2003/06/04; Completed 2003/07/08; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 12784934, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

Comments and Corrections

CommentIn: Psychol Bull. 2003 May;129(3):376-82; discussion 383-93. (PMID: 12784935)

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