Ideological Asymmetries in Social Psychological Research: Rethinking the Impact of Political Context on Ideological Epistemology

Haas, Ingrid Johnsen

doi:10.1080/1047840x.2020.1721234

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 40 publications

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“…While an in-depth focus on a specific domain is essential for theoretical development, the selection of hypotheses and methodologies can at times suffer from problems of bias and a lack of conceptual integration across different ideological and psychological domains. Indeed, a growing concern has emerged among researchers that psychologists of politics, nationalism and religion generate hypotheses and develop study designs that confirm their prior beliefs about the origins of social discord [7][8][9][10][11][12]. It is, therefore, valuable to complement theory-driven research with data-driven approaches, which can help to overcome these methodological challenges, as well as offer a wholistic view of these complex relationships by 'letting the data speak'.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cognitive and perceptual correlates of ideological attitudes: a data-driven approach

Zmigrod

Eisenberg

Bissett

et al. 2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Although human existence is enveloped by ideologies, remarkably little is understood about the relationships between ideological attitudes and psychological traits. Even less is known about how cognitive dispositions—individual differences in how information is perceived and processed— sculpt individuals' ideological worldviews, proclivities for extremist beliefs and resistance (or receptivity) to evidence. Using an unprecedented number of cognitive tasks ( n = 37) and personality surveys ( n = 22), along with data-driven analyses including drift-diffusion and Bayesian modelling, we uncovered the specific psychological signatures of political, nationalistic, religious and dogmatic beliefs. Cognitive and personality assessments consistently outperformed demographic predictors in accounting for individual differences in ideological preferences by 4 to 15-fold. Furthermore, data-driven analyses revealed that individuals’ ideological attitudes mirrored their cognitive decision-making strategies. Conservatism and nationalism were related to greater caution in perceptual decision-making tasks and to reduced strategic information processing, while dogmatism was associated with slower evidence accumulation and impulsive tendencies. Religiosity was implicated in heightened agreeableness and risk perception. Extreme pro-group attitudes, including violence endorsement against outgroups, were linked to poorer working memory, slower perceptual strategies, and tendencies towards impulsivity and sensation-seeking—reflecting overlaps with the psychological profiles of conservatism and dogmatism. Cognitive and personality signatures were also generated for ideologies such as authoritarianism, system justification, social dominance orientation, patriotism and receptivity to evidence or alternative viewpoints; elucidating their underpinnings and highlighting avenues for future research. Together these findings suggest that ideological worldviews may be reflective of low-level perceptual and cognitive functions. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The political brain: neurocognitive and computational mechanisms’.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cognitive and perceptual correlates of ideological attitudes: a data-driven approach

Zmigrod

Eisenberg

Bissett

et al. 2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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A critical evaluation and research agenda for the study of psychological dispositions and political attitudes

Arceneaux,

Bakker,

Fasching

et al. 2024

Political Psychology

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Political psychologists often examine the influence of psychological dispositions on political attitudes. Central to this field is the ideological asymmetry hypothesis (IAH), which asserts significant psychological differences between conservatives and liberals. According to the IAH, conservatives tend to exhibit greater resistance to change, a stronger inclination to uphold existing social systems, and heightened sensitivity to threats and uncertainty compared with their liberal counterparts. Our review and reanalysis, however, question the empirical strength of the IAH. We expose major concerns regarding the construct validity of the psychological dispositions and political attitudes traditionally measured. Furthermore, our research reveals that the internal validity of these studies is often compromised by endogeneity and selection biases. External and statistical validity issues are also evident, with many findings relying on small effect sizes derived from nonrepresentative student populations. Collectively, these data offer scant support for the IAH, indicating that simply amassing similar data is unlikely to clarify the validity of the hypothesis. We suggest a more intricate causal model that addresses the intricate dynamics between psychological dispositions and political attitudes. This model considers the bidirectional nature of these relationships and the moderating roles of individual and situational variables. In conclusion, we call for developing more sophisticated theories and rigorous research methodologies to enhance our comprehension of the psychological underpinnings of political ideology.

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A Shape of Geo-tagged Media Bias in COVID-19 Related Twitter

Kim

Duan

Kim

2022

The 11th International Symposium on Information and Communication Technology

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Ideological Asymmetries in Social Psychological Research: Rethinking the Impact of Political Context on Ideological Epistemology

Cited by 3 publications

References 40 publications

The cognitive and perceptual correlates of ideological attitudes: a data-driven approach

The cognitive and perceptual correlates of ideological attitudes: a data-driven approach

A critical evaluation and research agenda for the study of psychological dispositions and political attitudes

A Shape of Geo-tagged Media Bias in COVID-19 Related Twitter

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