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14.08.03, 12:33
Four researchers who culled through 50 years of
research literature about the psychology of
conservatism report that at the core of political
conservatism is the resistance to change and a
tolerance for inequality, and that some of the common
psychological factors linked to political conservatism
include:
- Fear and aggression
- Dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity
- Uncertainty avoidance
- Need for cognitive closure
The psychologists sought patterns among 88 samples,
involving 22,818 participants, taken from journal
articles, books and conference papers. The material
originating from 12 countries included speeches and
interviews given by politicians, opinions and verdicts
rendered by judges, as well as experimental, field and
survey studies.
The avoidance of uncertainty, for example, as well as
the striving for certainty, are particularly tied to
one key dimension of conservative thought - the
resistance to change or hanging onto the status quo,
they said.
The terror management feature of conservatism can be
seen in post-Sept. 11 America, where many people appear
to shun and even punish outsiders and those who
threaten the status of cherished world views, they wrote.
Concerns with fear and threat, likewise, can be linked
to a second key dimension of conservatism - an
endorsement of inequality, a view reflected in the
Indian caste , South African apartheid and the
conservative, segregationist politics of the late Sen.
Strom Thurmond (R-South S.C.).
Disparate conservatives share a resistance to change
and acceptance of inequality, the authors said. Hitler,
Mussolini, and former President Ronald Reagan were
individuals, but all were right-wing conservatives
because they preached a return to an idealized past and
condoned inequality in some form.
While most people resist change, Glaser said, liberals
appear to have a higher tolerance for change than
conservatives do.
As for conservatives' penchant for accepting
inequality, he said, one contemporary example is
liberals' general endorsement of extending rights and
liberties to disadvantaged minorities such as gays and
lesbians, compared to conservatives' opposing position.
This intolerance of ambiguity can lead people to cling
to the familiar, to arrive at premature conclusions,
and to impose simplistic cliches and stereotypes, the
researchers advised.
The latest debate about the possibility that the Bush
administration ignored intelligence information that
discounted reports of Iraq buying nuclear material from
Africa may be linked to the conservative intolerance
for ambiguity and or need for closure, said Glaser.
The researchers conceded cases of left-wing ideologues,
such as Stalin, Khrushchev or Castro, who, once in
power, steadfastly resisted change, allegedly in the
name of egalitarianism.
Yet, they noted that some of these figures might be
considered politically conservative in the context of
the systems that they defended. The researchers noted
that Stalin, for example, was concerned about defending
and preserving the existing Soviet system.
Conservatives don't feel the need to jump through
complex, intellectual hoops in order to understand or
justify some of their positions, he said. "They are
more comfortable seeing and stating things in black and
white in ways that would make liberals squirm," Glaser
said.
