A blast from the past. Political conservatism as motivated social cognition

[Solly Mack]

All from 2003.

Study of Bush's psyche touches a nerve

"A study funded by the US government has concluded that conservatism can be explained psychologically as a set of neuroses rooted in "fear and aggression, dogmatism and the intolerance of ambiguity".

As if that was not enough to get Republican blood boiling, the report's four authors linked Hitler, Mussolini, Ronald Reagan and the rightwing talkshow host, Rush Limbaugh, arguing they all suffered from the same affliction.

All of them "preached a return to an idealised past and condoned inequality". "

Researchers help define what makes a political conservative

"BERKELEY – Politically conservative agendas may range from supporting the Vietnam War to upholding traditional moral and religious values to opposing welfare. But are there consistent underlying motivations?

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

Terror management

"From our perspective, these psychological factors are capable of contributing to the adoption of conservative ideological contents, either independently or in combination," the researchers wrote in an article, "Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition," recently published in the American Psychological Association's Psychological Bulletin"

Political conservatism as motivated social cognition Link to actual report.

[SpiralHawk]

1. And these indisputable FACTS were published during the George AWOL Bush (R) era

....there you have it...

[Solly Mack]

2. kick

Report is worth the read...

[Cerridwen]

3. Kick. Recommend. Going to read the full report.

Hey, Solly! :hug:

[Solly Mack]

4. Hi Cerridwen!

Ain't it just like a liberal? (to explore what makes a conservative tick?) lol

[Cerridwen]

5. Yeah. It's that whole truth and liberal bias thing.

Mixed with a little "intellectual elitism". *sigh* lol

[Solly Mack]

6. I laugh but it's a sad laugh. I'm wired to want to understand

why some people believe what they believe - and these same people seemed wired to want me silenced...by any means available.

I can't just believe differently from them...because to them I am the enemy...with all that word implies.

[Cerridwen]

7. I share your sad laugh.

While you and I look for common ground and common interests, "they" look for differences and reasons to disagree, to fight, to separate.

Perhaps, Solly, it's time to think we are two difference species in the biological sense rather than the political sense. I'm only partly kidding. :) :(

[Solly Mack]

8. Nah...they're humans too. Sadly.

and humans do some fucked up shit. ..and many never seem to learn from it.