Editing Conservatism (section)

== Psychology ==
{{see also|Biology and political orientation}}

=== Conscientiousness ===
[[Big Five Personality Traits|The Big Five personality model]] has applications in the study of [[political psychology]]. It has been found by several studies that individuals who score high in [[Conscientiousness]] (the quality of working hard and being careful) are more likely to possess a right-wing political identification.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Gerber AS |display-authors=etal |year=2010 |title=Personality and Political Attitudes: Relationships across Issue Domains and Political Contexts |url= |journal=The American Political Science Review |volume=104 |issue= |pages=111–133 |doi=10.1017/S0003055410000031}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Sweetser KD |year=2014 |title=Partisan Personality: The Psychological Differences Between Democrats and Republicans, and Independents Somewhere in Between |url= |journal=American Behavioral Scientist |volume=58 |issue=9 |pages=1183–94 |doi=10.1177/0002764213506215}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Fatke M |year=2017 |title=Personality Traits and Political Ideology: A First Global Assessment |url= |journal=Political Psychology |volume=38 |issue=5 |pages=881–99 |doi=10.1111/pops.12347}}</ref> Since conscientiousness is positively related to job performance,<ref>Brown, T. J., Mowen, J. C., Donavan, D. T., & Licata, J. W. (2002). The customer orientation of service workers: Personality trait effects on self-and supervisor performance ratings. Journal ofMarketing Research, 39, 110–119.</ref><ref>Neal, A., Yeo, G., Koy, A., & Xiao, T. (2012). Predicting the form and direction of work role performance from the Big 5 model of personality traits. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33, 175–192.</ref> a 2021 study found that conservative service workers earn higher ratings, evaluations, and tips than social liberal ones.<ref>Davidson, A., & Theriault, D. A. (2021). How Consumer Experience Is Shaped by the Political Orientation of Service Providers. Journal of Consumer Psychology.</ref>

=== Disgust sensitivity ===
A number of studies have found that [[disgust]] is tightly linked to political orientation. People who are highly sensitive to disgusting images are more likely to align with the political right and value traditional ideals of bodily and spiritual purity, tending to oppose, for example, [[abortion]] and [[gay marriage]].<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Inbar, Yoel |display-authors=etal |title=Disgust sensitivity, political conservatism, and voting |journal=Social Psychological and Personality Science |date=2012 |volume=3 |issue=5 |pages=537–544 |doi=10.1177/1948550611429024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Ahn, Woo-Young |display-authors=etal |title=Nonpolitical Images Evoke Neural Predictors of Political Ideology |journal=Current Biology |date=November 2014 |volume=24 |issue=22 |pages=2693–2699 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2014.09.050 |pmid=25447997 |pmc=4245707 |bibcode=2014CBio...24.2693A}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Left or right-wing? Brain's disgust response tells all |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26481-left-or-right-wing-brains-disgust-response-tells-all/ |journal=New Scientist |access-date=July 18, 2023 |author=Dan Jones}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Conservatives are more easily disgusted than liberals. |url=http://yoelinbar.net/papers/disgust_conservatism.pdf |author=Y. Inbar |journal=Cognition and Emotion |date=2008 |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=714–725 |doi=10.1080/02699930802110007 |display-authors=etal |citeseerx=10.1.1.372.3053 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203032055/http://yoelinbar.net/papers/disgust_conservatism.pdf |archive-date=February 3, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Research in the field of [[evolutionary psychology]] has also found that people who are more disgust sensitive tend to favor their own [[in-group]] over [[Outgroup (sociology)|out-group]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Gordon D. A. |last2=Fincher |first2=Corey L. |last3=Walasek |first3=Lukasz |date=2016 |title=Personality, Parasites, Political Attitudes, and Cooperation: A Model of How Infection Prevalence Influences Openness and Social Group Formation |journal=Topics in Cognitive Science |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=98–117 |doi=10.1111/tops.12175 |pmid=26612490 |pmc=4991276}}</ref> A proposed reason for this phenomenon is that people begin to associate outsiders with disease while associating health with people similar to themselves.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2005.12.001 |title=Disease avoidance and ethnocentrism: The effects of disease vulnerability and disgust sensitivity on intergroup attitudes |year=2006 |last1=Navarrete |first1=Carlos David |last2=Fessler |first2=Daniel M.T. |journal=Evolution and Human Behavior |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=270–282 |bibcode=2006EHumB..27..270N}}</ref>

The higher one's disgust sensitivity is, the greater the tendency to make more conservative moral judgments. Disgust sensitivity is associated with moral [[hypervigilance]], which means that people who have higher disgust sensitivity are more likely to think that suspects of a crime are guilty. They also tend to view them as evil, if found guilty, and endorse harsher punishment in the setting of a court.<ref>{{cite journal |last=David |first=B. |author2=Olatunji, B.O. |title=The effect of disgust conditioning and disgust sensitivity on appraisals of moral transgressions |journal=Personality and Individual Differences |year=2011 |volume=50 |pages=1142–1146 |doi=10.1016/j.paid.2011.02.004 |issue=7}}</ref>

=== Authoritarianism ===
The [[right-wing authoritarian personality]] (RWA) is a [[personality type]] that describes somebody who is highly submissive to their authority figures, acts aggressively in the name of said authorities, and is conformist in thought and behavior.<ref name="APA Dictionary">{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2021 |title=Right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) |url=https://dictionary.apa.org/right-wing-authoritarianism |access-date=October 18, 2021 |website=dictionary.apa.org |publisher=American Psychological Association |location=[[Washington, D.C.]]}}</ref> According to psychologist [[Bob Altemeyer]], individuals who are politically conservative tend to rank high in RWA.<ref>{{cite book |last=Altemeyer |first=Bob |title=Right-Wing Authoritarianism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4preAAAAMAAJ |year=1981 |publisher=University of Manitoba Press |isbn=978-0-88755-124-6}}</ref> This finding was echoed by philosopher [[Theodor W. Adorno]] in ''[[The Authoritarian Personality]]'' (1950) based on the [[F-scale (personality test)|F-scale]] personality test.

A study done on Israeli and Palestinian students in Israel found that RWA scores of right-wing party supporters were significantly higher than those of left-wing party supporters.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rubinstein |first1=G. |doi=10.1177/0022022196272005 |title=Two Peoples in One Land: A Validation Study of Altemeyer's Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale in the Palestinian and Jewish Societies in Israel |journal=Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology |year=1996 |volume=27 |pages=216–230 |issue=2}}</ref> However, a 2005 study by psychologist H. Michael Crowson and colleagues suggested a moderate gap between RWA and other conservative positions, stating that their "results indicated that conservatism is not synonymous with RWA".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Crowson |first1=H. Michael |last2=Thoma |first2=Stephen J. |last3=Hestevold |first3=Nita |title=Is Political Conservatism Synonymous With Authoritarianism? |journal=The Journal of Social Psychology |date=August 7, 2010 |volume=145 |issue=5 |pages=571–592 |doi=10.3200/SOCP.145.5.571-592 |pmid=16201679}}</ref>

According to political scientist [[Karen Stenner]], who specializes in authoritarianism, conservatives will embrace diversity and civil liberties to the extent that they are institutionalized traditions in the social order, but they tend to be drawn to authoritarianism when public opinion is fractious and there is a loss of confidence in public institutions.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Stenner |first=Karen |author-link=Karen Stenner |title=Three Kinds of 'Conservatism' |journal=Psychological Inquiry |year=2009 |pages=142–159 |doi=10.1080/10478400903028615 |url=http://ussc.edu.au/s/media/docs/publications/1006_Inequality_Stenner.pdf |access-date=June 2, 2012 |volume=20 |issue=2–3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512090055/http://ussc.edu.au/s/media/docs/publications/1006_Inequality_Stenner.pdf |archive-date=May 12, 2013}}</ref>

=== Ambiguity intolerance ===
In 1973, psychologist [[Glenn Wilson (psychologist)|Glenn Wilson]] published an influential book providing evidence that a general factor underlying conservative beliefs is "fear of uncertainty".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Glenn D. |title=The Psychology of Conservatism |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781135094454 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7rlTAQAAQBAJ}}</ref> A meta-analysis of research literature found that many factors, such as [[Ambiguity tolerance|intolerance of ambiguity]] and need for [[Cognitive closure (psychology)|cognitive closure]], contribute to the degree of one's political conservatism and its manifestations in decision-making.<ref name="Jost et al. 2003">{{cite journal |last1=Jost |first1=John T. |last2=Glaser |first2=Jack |last3=Kruglanski |first3=Arie W. |last4=Sulloway |first4=Frank J. |date=2003 |title=Political conservatism as motivated social cognition |url=https://www.academia.edu/7598266 |journal=Psychological Bulletin |volume=129 |issue=3 |pages=339–375 |doi=10.1037/0033-2909.129.3.339 |pmid=12784934}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.ijresmar.2019.04.001 |last1=Chan |first1=EY |last2=Ilicic |first2=J |year=2019 |title=Political ideology and brand attachment |journal=International Journal of Research in Marketing |volume=36 |issue=4 |pages=TBD}}</ref> A study by Kathleen Maclay stated that these traits "might be associated with such generally valued characteristics as personal commitment and unwavering loyalty". The research also suggested that while most people are resistant to change, social liberals are more tolerant of it.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/07/22_politics.shtml |title=Researchers help define what makes a political conservative |year=2003}}</ref>

=== Social dominance orientation ===
[[Social dominance orientation]] (SDO) is a [[personality trait]] measuring an individual's support for [[social hierarchy]] and the extent to which they desire their [[in-group]] be superior to [[In-group and out-group|out-groups]]. Psychologist [[Felicia Pratto]] and her colleagues have found evidence to support the claim that a high SDO is strongly correlated with conservative views and opposition to [[Social engineering (political science)|social engineering]] to promote equality. Pratto and her colleagues also found that high SDO scores were highly correlated with measures of [[prejudice]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pratto |first1=Felicia |last2=Sidanius |first2=Jim |last3=Stallworth |first3=Lisa M. |last4=Malle |first4=Bertram F. |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.67.4.741 |title=Social dominance orientation: A personality variable predicting social and political attitudes |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |year=1994 |volume=67 |pages=741–763 |issue=4 |url=http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:3207711}}</ref>

However, psychologist [[David J. Schneider]] argued for a more complex relationships between the three factors, writing that "correlations between prejudice and political conservatism are reduced virtually to zero when controls for SDO are instituted, suggesting that the conservatism–prejudice link is caused by SDO".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schneider |first1=David J. |title=The Psychology of Stereotyping |date=April 7, 2005 |publisher=Guilfold Press |page=275}}</ref> Political theorist [[Kenneth Minogue]] criticized Pratto's work, saying:

{{blockquote|It is characteristic of the conservative temperament to value established identities, to praise habit and to respect prejudice, not because it is irrational, but because such things anchor the darting impulses of human beings in solidities of custom which we do not often begin to value until we are already losing them. Radicalism often generates youth movements, while conservatism is a condition found among the mature, who have discovered what it is in life they most value.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kuper |first1=Adam |title=The Social Science Encyclopedia |date=May 13, 2013 |publisher=Routledge |pages=155–156 |edition=2nd}}</ref>}}

A 1996 study by Pratto and her colleagues examined the topic of [[racism]]. Contrary to what these theorists predicted, correlations between conservatism and racism were strongest among the most educated individuals, and weakest among the least educated. They also found that the correlation between racism and conservatism could be accounted for by their mutual relationship with SDO.<ref name="sidanius96">{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.476 |last1=Sidanius |first1=J |last2=Pratto |first2=F |last3=Bobo |first3=L |year=1996 |title=Racism, conservatism, affirmative action, and intellectual sophistication: A matter of principled conservatism or group dominance? |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |volume=70 |issue=3 |pages=476–490 |url=http://www.scholar.harvard.edu/files/bobo/files/1996_racism_conservatism_affirmative_action_and_journal_of_personality_and_social_psychology.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417073353/http://www.scholar.harvard.edu/files/bobo/files/1996_racism_conservatism_affirmative_action_and_journal_of_personality_and_social_psychology.pdf |archive-date=April 17, 2015 |url-status=live |citeseerx=10.1.1.474.1114}}</ref>

=== Happiness ===
In his book ''Gross National Happiness'' (2008), [[Arthur C. Brooks]] presents the finding that conservatives are roughly twice as happy as social liberals.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Arthur C. |title=Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America—and How We Can Get More of It |date=2008 |publisher=Basic Books |location=[[New York City|New York]] |isbn=978-1-5113-9186-3}}</ref> A 2008 study suggested that conservatives tend to be happier than social liberals because of their tendency to justify the current state of affairs and to remain unbothered by inequalities in society.<ref name="napier and jost 2008">{{cite journal |last1=Napier |first1=J.L. |last2=Jost |first2=J.T. |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02124.x |title=Why Are Conservatives Happier Than Liberals? |journal=Psychological Science |volume=19 |issue=6 |pages=565–572 |year=2008 |pmid=18578846}}</ref> A 2012 study disputed this hypothesis, demonstrating that conservatives expressed greater personal agency (e.g., personal control, responsibility), more positive outlook (e.g., optimism, self-worth), and more transcendent moral beliefs (e.g., greater religiosity, greater moral clarity).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schlenker |first1=Barry |last2=Chambers |first2=John |last3=Le |first3=Bonnie |title=Conservatives are happier than liberals, but why? Political ideology, personality and life satisfaction. |journal=Journal of Research in Personality |date=April 2012 |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=127–146 |doi=10.1016/j.jrp.2011.12.009 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S009265661100170X |access-date=July 31, 2021}}</ref>