Researchers help define what makes a political conservative

“A true conservative is one who can't see any difference between radicalism and an idea.”

By Kathleen Maclay

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

Read more @ UC Berkeley News.

“A conservative is a man who is too cowardly to fight and too fat to run.”