tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post5210618199091634613..comments2024-02-23T11:23:45.971-05:00Comments on Lost Motorcyclist: Are Liberals Being Targeted?Lost Motorcyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873504561959138792noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post-30814193519697863192011-01-12T10:30:18.607-05:002011-01-12T10:30:18.607-05:00Although, of course, it's risky to over-genera...Although, of course, it's risky to over-generalize about the psychological make-up of 'liberals' vs. 'conservatives,' research does cast some light on this problem. After <a href="http://lostmotorcycles.blogspot.com/2011/01/liberals-or-conservatives-who-is-best.html" rel="nofollow">the discussion</a> on this blog, I did a little research.<br /><br />What I found enlightening was a <i>metastudy</i> published in the <i>Psychological Bulletin</i> of the American Psychological Association, <a href="http://faculty.virginia.edu/haidtlab/jost.glaser.political-conservatism-as-motivated-social-cog.pdf" rel="nofollow">Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition</a>. <br /><br />Yes, it <i>is</i> a rather long and decidedly academic paper, but it may be possible to summarize the findings - somewhat at the risk of oversimplification (a common 'conservative' failing ;-)<br /><br />The authors conclude, based on their analysis of 50 years of published (and generally 'peer reviewed') research, that at the core of political conservatism are <i>resistance to change</i> and <i>tolerance for inequality</i>. Among the common psychological characteristics evident in conservatives are:<br />· Fear and aggression<br />· Dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity<br />· Uncertainty avoidance<br />· Need for cognitive closure<br />· Terror management<br /><br />The 'terror management' characteristic was clearly evident in post-9/11 behaviours, with the shunning and punishment of 'outsiders' and anyone who appeared to threaten the conservatives' cherished world views.<br /><br />Although the authors recognized that resistance to change is a common psychological characteristic, 'liberals' appear to have higher tolerance for change.<br /><br />The authors conclude that although conservatives tended to be less 'integratively complex' than others, that did not imply that they were 'simple-minded.' Conservatives simply had less tolerance for ambiguity and complexity, preferring to see things as more 'black and white' than liberals.<br /><br />Now I depart from the author's conclusions. These findings are not to suggest, in any sense, that the presence of these conservative characteristics implies psychopathy. At not least in most cases. <br /><br />It <i>does</i> become an issue when that inability to deal with complexity eventuates fear and aggression to the point of radical and extreme action.Madeyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593933575568389288noreply@blogger.com