Low-Effort Thought Promotes Political Conservatism

Eidelman, Scott; Crandall, Christian S.; Goodman, Jeffrey A.; Blanchar, John C.

doi:10.1177/0146167212439213

Cited by 144 publications

(143 citation statements)

References 101 publications

(141 reference statements)

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“…And then this style of this attribution may take as a positive attributional style. On the other hand, if people attribute positive outcomes to effort, the positive affective reaction is too feeble to strength the behavior reaction which may be considered as negative attributional styles (Shepperd et al Eidelman et al 2012). However, this may not true in Chinese culture and the above inferences were not proved in the CFA results of current study which showed the important need for contextualized research of the structure of attributional style.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impacts of Attributional Styles and Dispositional Optimism on Subject Well-Being: A Structural Equation Modelling Analysis

et al. 2013

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The current study examined the impact of attributional styles on subjective well-being, with a primary focus on confirmation of the mediator role of dispositional optimism among a sample of 384 college students. Participants completed a questionnaire packet containing life orientation test-revised, Multidimensional-Multiattributional Causality Scale, and Subjective Well-Being Scale. The results revealed that both dispositional optimism and attributional styles were significantly correlated with subjective well-being. Confirmatory factor analysis identified the latent structure of attributional styles in Chinese college students and found out that both positive and negative effort need to exclude from the structure which was different from findings in Western. Structural equation modeling indicated that optimism partially mediated positive attributional styles to subject wellbeing (SWB) and negative attributional styles to SWB. The final model also revealed significant both paths from positive and negative attributional styles to subjective wellbeing through optimism. The findings extended prior researches and shed light on how attributional styles influence subjective well-being; this provides valuable evidence on how to promote subjective well-being in positive psychology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impacts of Attributional Styles and Dispositional Optimism on Subject Well-Being: A Structural Equation Modelling Analysis

et al. 2013

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“…Furthermore, research on personality characteristics documents a link between conservative political orientation (especially when it comes to social and cultural issues) and lower openness to new experiences and higher conscientiousness (e.g., Carney et al, 2008). In line with these findings, conservatism is also associated with epistemic needs to maintain certainty, structure, and closure, along with a generally rigid or persistent cognitive style (Eidelman, Crandall, Goodman, & Blanchar, 2012;Jost et al, 2003Jost et al, , 2008Jost et al, , 2009Jost & Krochik, 2014;Thorisdottir & Jost, 2011;Tetlock, 1983). …”

Section: Psychological Underpinnings Of Political Orientationmentioning

confidence: 90%

On the Grammar of Politics—or Why Conservatives Prefer Nouns

Cichocka

Bilewicz

Jost

et al. 2016

Political Psychology

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Previous research indicates that political conservatism is associated with epistemic needs for structure and certainty (Jost et al., 2003) and that nouns elicit clearer and more definite perceptions of reality than other parts of speech (Carnaghi et al., 2008). We therefore hypothesized that conservatives would exhibit preferences for nouns (vs. verbs and adjectives), insofar as nouns are better suited to satisfy epistemic needs. In Study 1, we observed that social conservatism was associated with noun preferences in Polish and that personal need for structure accounted for the association between ideology and grammatical preferences. In Study 2, conducted in Arabic, social conservatism was associated with a preference for the use of nominal sentences (composed of nouns only) over verbal sentences (which included verbs and adjectives). In Study 3, we found that more conservative U.S. presidents used greater proportions of nouns in major speeches, and this effect was related to integrative complexity. We discuss the possibility that conservative ideology is linked to grammatical preferences that foster feelings of stability and predictability.

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“…The immediate response to this threat involves prevention (vs. promotion) reactions that emphasize what is already known and familiar (i.e., the status quo), in the interest of reducing uncertainty and anxiety and minimizing potential harm or danger. As such, prevention responses and "conservative" reactions are both basic and normal (Eidelman et al, 2012), triggered by an oversensitivity to the unfamiliar (or to perceived threats) but also representing a reasonable response based on a critical evaluation of threatening environmental factors.…”

Section: An Integrative Model Of Cognitive Ability and Style To Evalumentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, Eidelman, Crandall, Goodman, and Blanchar (2012) have provided experimental support that low-effort thinking promotes political conservatism. Linear relations have also been confirmed longitudinally, with poorer mental abilities in childhood predicting stronger endorsement of right-wing authoritarianism and social conservatism (e.g., Deary et al, 2008a;Heaven et al, 2011;Hodson & Busseri, 2012;Schoon et al, 2010) and right-leaning voting behavior (Deary, Batty, & Gale, 2008b) in adulthood.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Does Lower Cognitive Ability Predict Greater Prejudice?

Dhont

Hodson

2014

Curr Dir Psychol Sci

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Early empirical evidence (Adorno et al., 1950) Abstract Historically, leading scholars proposed a theoretical negative association between cognitive abilities and prejudice. Until recently, however, the field has been relatively silent on this topic, citing concerns with potential confounds (e.g., education levels). Instead, researchers focused on other individual-difference predictors of prejudice, including cognitive style, personality, negativity bias, and threat. Yet there exists a solid empirical paper trail demonstrating that lower cognitive abilities (e.g., abstract-reasoning skills and verbal, nonverbal, and general intelligence) predict greater prejudice. We discuss how the effects of lower cognitive ability on prejudice are explained (i.e., mediated) by greater endorsement of right-wing socially conservative attitudes. We conclude that the field will benefit from a recognition of, and open discussion about, differences in cognitive abilities between those lower versus higher in prejudice. To advance the scientific discussion, we propose the Cognitive Ability and Style to Evaluation model, which outlines the cognitive psychological underpinnings of ideological belief systems and prejudice.

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Low-Effort Thought Promotes Political Conservatism

Cited by 144 publications

References 101 publications

The Impacts of Attributional Styles and Dispositional Optimism on Subject Well-Being: A Structural Equation Modelling Analysis

The Impacts of Attributional Styles and Dispositional Optimism on Subject Well-Being: A Structural Equation Modelling Analysis

On the Grammar of Politics—or Why Conservatives Prefer Nouns

Does Lower Cognitive Ability Predict Greater Prejudice?

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