The Psychology of Politics

Stone, William F.; Schaffner, Paul E.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4612-3830-0

Cited by 43 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 139 publications

(186 reference statements)

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“…Historically, conservatism as an ideological belief system has embodied many things, including the desire for order and stability, preference for gradual rather than revolutionary change (if any), adherence to preexisting social norms, idealization of authority figures, punishment of deviants, and endorsement of social and economic inequality (e.g., Eckhardt, 1991;Eysenck & Wilson, 1978;Kerlinger, 1984;Lentz, 1939;Mannheim, 1927Mannheim, /1986McClosky & Zaller, 1984;Sidanius et al, 1996;W. F. Stone & Schaffner, 1988;Tomkins, 1963;Wilson, 1973c).…”

Section: Conceptual Definitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…F. Stone, 1986; W. F. Stone & Schaffner, 1988;Thomas, 1976) have noted that Silvan Tomkins's (1963Tomkins's ( , 1965Tomkins's ( , 1987Tomkins's ( , 1995 theory of ideological polarity is one of the most fascinating accounts of the origins and implications of left-wing and right-wing thinking, but it is lamentably underresearched. It is a distinctive theory because it explicitly stresses the role of affect and motivation in ideology and because it assumes that ideological predilections permeate nearly every domain of a person's life, including one's attitudes toward the arts, music, science, philosophy, and so on, so that "if one knows what an individual believes about the nature of literature, one would also know what he would believe about the nature of mathematics" (Tomkins, 1995, p. 117).…”

Section: The Theory Of Ideo-affective Polaritymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Political conservatism as motivated social cognition.

Jost¹,

Glaser²,

Kruglanski³

et al. 2003

Psychological Bulletin

3,829

247

3,256

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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 ϭ .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.Conservatism is a demanding mistress and is giving me a migraine.-George F. Will, BuntsFor more than half a century, psychologists have been tracking the hypothesis that different psychological motives and tendencies underlie ideological differences between the political left and the right. The practice of singling out political conservatives for special study began with Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson, and Sanford's (1950) landmark study of authoritarianism and the fascist potential in personality. An asymmetrical focus on right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) was criticized heavily on theoretical and methodological grounds (e.g., Christie, 1954;Eysenck, 1954;Rokeach, 1960;Shils, 1954), but it has withstood the relentless tests of time and empirical scrutiny (e.g., Altemeyer, 1981Altemeyer, , 1988Altemeyer, , 1996Altemeyer, , 1998Billig, 1984;Brown, 1965;Christie, 1991;Elms, 1969;Sidanius, 1985;W. F. Stone, 1980;W. F. Stone, Lederer, & Christie, 1993;Tetlock, 1984;Wilson, 1973c). A voluminous literature, which we review here, facilitates the comparison of cognitive styles and motivational needs of political conservatives with those of moderates, liberals, radicals, and left-wingers. In addition to classic and contemporary approaches to authoritarianism, we cover less obvious sources of theory and research on individual differences associated with dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity, uncertainty avoidance, need for cognitive closure, and social dominance orientation (SDO) insofar as each of these psychological variables contributes to a deeper and more nuanced understanding of political conservatism.The study of authoritarianism and other personality theories of political attitudes is often dismissed a priori as an illegitimate, value-laden attempt to correlate general psychological profiles with specific ideological beliefs (e.g., Durrheim, 1997; J. L. Martin, 2001;Ray, 1988). The psychological study of ideological conservatism is one that invites controversy (e.g., Redding, 2001;Sears, 1994;Sidanius, Pratto, & Bobo, 1996;Sniderman & Tetlock, 1986;Tetlock, 1994;Tetlock & Mitchell,...

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Section: Conceptual Definitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Theory Of Ideo-affective Polaritymentioning

confidence: 99%

Political conservatism as motivated social cognition.

Jost¹,

Glaser²,

Kruglanski³

et al. 2003

Psychological Bulletin

3,829

247

3,256

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…They argued that socioeconomic status influences who participates, but that mobilization by political elites drives when and how they participate. Finally, psychologists more often view political participation as an outcome of personality dispositions (e.g., efficacy) or attitudes (e.g., political identity, gender, racial/ethnic or "minority" consciousness; see, e.g., Block, Haan, & Smith, 1969;Rothman & Lichter, 1982;Stone & Schaffner, 1988).…”

Section: Predicting Political Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women and the Social Movements of the 1960s: Activists, Engaged Observers, and Nonparticipants

Stewart

Settles

Winter

1998

Political Psychology

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“…There is a body of predominantly North American literature that links political convictions (liberalism vs. conservatism) with personality traits (e.g., Jost 2006). Other authors treat beliefs about human nature and other aspects of individuals' worldviews as one single dimension (Tomkins 1963;Stone and Schaffner 1988;De St. Aubin 1996). In many cases, however, it might make sense to differentiate between these constructs and to analyse in depth the relationships between beliefs about human nature and many of the other aspects included.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

On the Role of Ideas of Human Nature in Shaping Attitudes Towards Environmental Governance

Fischer¹

2009

Hum Ecol

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Attitudes towards the management of the natural environment have been described mainly as building on individuals' images of nature and the human-nature relationship. However, in previous qualitative research I found strong evidence that in order to understand public views on environmental policies we also need to understand individuals' beliefs about their fellow humans. The present study tested the hypothesis that beliefs about human nature and preferences for certain governance approaches-such as regulations and collective action-are related to individuals' attitudes towards concrete management measures. Survey results (n = 155), analysed by means of structural equation modelling, suggest that effects of beliefs about human nature are discernible, but not significant. I could, however, identify generic preferences for particular approaches to environmental governance. These significantly explained variation in attitudes towards environmental governance in an applied context, suggesting a strong need for further research in this politically highly relevant field.

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The Psychology of Politics

Cited by 43 publications

References 139 publications

Political conservatism as motivated social cognition.

Political conservatism as motivated social cognition.

Women and the Social Movements of the 1960s: Activists, Engaged Observers, and Nonparticipants

On the Role of Ideas of Human Nature in Shaping Attitudes Towards Environmental Governance

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