COVID-19-related threat perceptions,political identity,and voting in the 2020 presidential election

Perceptions of the COVID-19 virus varied drastically in the United States, with many people highly concerned by health-related consequences (realistic threats) and many others concerned by sociocultural implications (symbolic threats). Across three studies, we tested whether differing realistic and symbolic COVID-19 related threat perceptions varied along gender and political identity near the 2020 US Presidential Election. In all three studies, we found that realistic COVID-19 related threat perceptions were positively associated with a liberal political identity; this pattern did not vary by gender. In Studies 1 and 3, symbolic COVID-19 related threat perceptions were positively associated with a conservative political identity and also did not vary by gender. In Study 2, however, the association between symbolic threat and political identity did vary by gender. Symbolic COVID-19 related threat perceptions were positively associated with a conservative identity for men but not women; for women, threat and political identity were unrelated.     

Life values of Finnish adolescents and their beliefs about the values of peers and adults

In the context of a longitudinal developmental study, 182 girls and boys (90 from Helsinki, 92 from North Karelia) were asked, at the ages of 15 and 18, about their life values and their beliefs about the values of their peers and of adults. The pattern of their own values, which were mainly concerned with human relations, self-actualization, and economic matters (at 15) or health (at 18), differed from those they believed to be characteristic of their peers and, especially, of adults. At 15, peers were often seen to value social success and to be comparatively tough; adults were considered to be oriented towards economic values. The differences between own values and beliefs about the values of others are discussed with reference to the pattern of communication between adolescents and their peers and adults; experienced expectations of peer groups; and adolescents' motivation to grow up into an adult world the (judged) values of which they only partly share.     

Stability of Values of Junior High School Pupils and Their Parents Over Two Years

97 parent-daughter pairs and 80 parent-son pairs were administered a value-orientation instrument when the children were in junior high school and again 2 years later. Girls became more concerned with what they could give of themselves in their eventual work. Girls' parents began to stress home-making qualities. Boys became less concerned with the more tangible rewards of work and more concerned with utilizing their capabilities. Boys' parents rated all the values more important than did their sons. Boys and their parents evidenced more disagreement regarding values than did girls and their parents. However, when focusing on the most important value, there is considerable agreement between children and parents. Parents have remained consistent in their value ratings over the 2 years while children have changed their ratings in the direction of the values their parents hold for them. The children of parents who have changed their value ratings were not different from children of parents who remained consistent in the ratings. Nor were children who changed their value ratings different from those whose values were stable.     

Family resemblances in conservatism: Are daughters more similar to parents than sons are?1

Family resemblances in conservatism were examined for a sample of 176 families tested in metropolitan Adelaide in 1972. Each family member's score on the Wilson and Patterson Conservatism Scale was compared with the scores of other members of his or her family. Using this within-family analysis it was found, as predicted, that there were family resemblances in conservatism and that sons were less similar to their parents in conservatism than were daughters. There was no evidence to support same-sex modeling. Results also suggested that the similarity of daughters to fathers was reduced in lower SES families. Parents were more conservative than their children and females were more conservative than males. Results were discussed in relation to developmental influences and to the literature on sex differences.     

Religiosity, values, and horizontal and vertical individualism-collectivism: a study of Turkey, the United States, and the Philippines

The authors examined the links between two dimensions that have been useful in understanding cross-cultural differences and similarities, namely, individualism-collectivism (I-C) and value orientations. The authors examined the relations and parallels between the two variables by directly relating them and examining the patterns of relations that both have with a third variable, religiosity. Participants were 475 college students from the Philippines, the United States, and Turkey who responded to measures of horizontal and vertical I-C, value orientations, and religiosity. The authors found partial support for the parallels between I-C and value types, particularly for collectivism and conservative values. Moreover, religiosity was associated positively with conservative values and collectivism, across all three cultures. The authors found individualism to also relate to openness-to-change values, though the patterns were not as consistent as those that they found between collectivism and conservation. Differences and similarities emerged in links of I-C-values to religiosity across the three samples.     

Interaction Across Modalities: I. Successive Stimulation

The aim of the study was to determine the structure and dimensionality of social-political attitudes. Also investigated was the hypothesis that the liberal vs. conservative attitude dimension was synonymous with the value dimension rule free vs. authoritarian. An attitude measure consisting of simply stated social-political issues and a personal values inventory were administered to a varied sample of 300 men and women. Analysis of the attitude items disclosed three factors—Liberal vs. Conservative, Freedom of Sex Expression, and Equalitarianism—whose intercorrelations indicated a common dimension of conservatism. The cross-correlations in both the male and female samples support the hypothesis that conservative attitudes and authoritarian values were essentially identical constructs. Groups ranked by conservativism and groups ranked as to age increased significantly in mean conservativism score as anticipated.     

How Do Religious Identities and Basic Value Orientations Affect Each Other Over Time?

Religion and values appear to be related, but their causal underpinnings remain unclear. To evaluate causality, we conducted a series of cross-lagged random effect regression models assessing residualized change over a 1-year period (2009–2010) in religious identification and basic value orientations. These models analyzed data from 1,571 religious people who formed part of a broader longitudinal national probability sample conducted in New Zealand. First finding: Religious identification predicted change in conservative/tradition values. Specifically, those low in religious identification at Time 1 became lower in conservative/tradition values at Time 2, whereas those high in religious identification at Time 1 became higher in conservative/tradition values at Time 2. Religious identification was not associated with change in other value domains. Second finding: Openness values predicted change in religious identity. Specifically, those low in openness values at Time 1 became higher in religious identification at Time 2, whereas those high in openness values at Time 1 became lower in their religious identification at Time 2. Only openness values were associated with changes in religious identification. Third finding: The random components in our multilevel models were nonsignificant, indicating that these cross-lagged effects were comparable across the religious denominations of an entire country.     

Human Values, Global Self-Esteem, and Belief in a Just World

ABSTRACT Relations were investigated between global self-esteem, just world beliefs, and value priorities in two large samples of Australian high-school (N= 953) and university students (N= 361). Principal component factor analyses involving the importance ratings for each of the Rokeach terminal and instrumental values showed that values could be classified into the following eight value domains for both samples: positive affiliation, universal prosocial, mature accomplishment, comfort/stimulation, security/salvation, self-directed competence, restrictive conformity, and prosocial concern. These value domains overlapped with but were not identical to the classification of motivational domains proposed by Schwartz and Bilsky (1987). As predicted, global self-esteem (assessed by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale) was positively related to the importance of values in domains concerned with achievement, competence, and self-direction, and just world beliefs (assessed by the Just World Scale) were positively related to values in the restrictive conformity domain. Gender differences occurred in regard to the value domains and in the relation of prosocial values to global self-esteem in the older university sample. The results were discussed in relation to other studies of the structure of human values and other research on self-esteem and belief in a just world.     

Liberal–conservative dimension of moral concerns underlying political faction formation in Taiwan

Moral foundations theory provides a framework for understanding the traditional liberal–conservative dichotomy in political factions. Typically, factions on the liberal side are more concerned with individualizing foundations—including care/harm and fairness/cheating—for the protection of individual rights and welfare whereas factions on the conservative side are concerned with both individualizing and binding foundations—including loyalty/betrayal, authority/subversion, and sanctity/degradation—for the maintenance of existing social ethics. Our research extended this framework to the analysis of Taiwanese political factions, which are not distributed conspicuously along the liberal–conservative line but instead on whether Taiwan should become a legally independent state or unify with the People's Republic of China (Mainland China). Our results indicate that despite the scarce use of the terms liberal or left and conservative or right in common communication, a liberal–conservative dimension underlies the Taiwanese political spectrum. Specifically, supporters of Taiwan independence exhibit liberal‐like moral concerns whereas supporters of China unification and the status quo demonstrate conservative‐like moral concerns. Moreover, indirect effects exist through moral foundations from political factions to stances on social issues; this is especially prevalent in the case of Taiwan independence camp's clear support for the legalization of same‐sex marriage, a stance resulting from anti‐authoritarian moral and political characteristics.     

Investigating the Perceptions of Intellectual Diversity Among Socially Conservative Christian Seniors at Elite U.S. Colleges

This study investigated the perceptions of intellectual diversity at elite U.S. universities through the lens of the socially conservative Christian senior. Closely aligned with the principle of academic freedom, intellectual diversity is a foundational value putatively espoused by most if not all colleges and universities in the US. Although studies have consistently shown a professorate that is overwhelmingly Democratic and ideologically left-of-center, many scholars deny that any systematic bias exists. Research has shown a correlation between commitment to Christian/conservative values and perception of professor bias. Using hierarchical generalized linear modeling (HGLM) on a subset of the nationally representative sample (N = 2,789) of “very high” institutions, this current study found corroborative evidence that socially conservative Christian students were disproportionately “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” with their institutions’ respect for the expression of diverse beliefs. Generalized findings suggest that systematic bias vis-à-vis the expression of diverse beliefs exists at elite U.S. colleges. The discussion begins by situating intellectual diversity within its historical and contemporary contexts.     

AN ENCOUNTER GROUP AND CHANGES IN COUNSELORS' VALUES1

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of encounter group treatment on the values and value systems of 24 employment service counselors. A time series own control design was used. Treatment consisted of 27 hours in encounter groups over a three-week period. Thirty-six value rankings were obtained before and after treatment, and again six months later. There was greater change in instrumental than terminal values during and after treatment. Contrary to expectation, personal and conservative values became more important than social and liberal values after treatment. Most value changes during treatment did not persist six months later.     

The Association of Religiosity and Political Conservatism: The Role of Political Engagement

Some argue that there is an organic connection between being religious and being politically conservative. We evaluate an alternative thesis that the relation between religiosity and political conservatism largely results from engagement with political discourse that indicates that these characteristics go together. In a combined sample of national survey respondents from 1996 to 2008, religiosity was associated with conservative positions on a wide range of attitudes and values among the highly politically engaged, but this association was generally weaker or nonexistent among those less engaged with politics. The specific political characteristics for which this pattern existed varied across ethno‐religious groups. These results suggest that whether religiosity translates into political conservatism depends to an important degree on level of engagement with political discourse.     

SINGER, SOCIOBIOLOGY, AND VALUES: PURE REASON VERSUS EMPIRICAL REASON

Abstract. E. O. Wilson argues that we must use scientifically based reason to solve the values dilemma created by the loss of a transcendent foundation for values. Peter Singer allows that sociobiology can help us understand the evolutionary origin of ethics, but denies the claim that sociobiology or any science can furnish us with ultimate ethical principles. We argue that Singer's critique of Wilson's attempt to bridge the gap between fact and value using empirical reason is unconvincing and that Singer's own ethical principle of disinterestedness requires major support from empirical reason and is not sustainable by pure reason alone.     

Conservatism as a predictor of responses to humour—II. The location of sense of humour in a comprehensive attitude space

It was attempted to locate dimensions of sense of humour in the attitude space. While previous results suggest that appreciation of jokes based on the incongruity-resolution structure is mainly a function of conservatism, the present paper examined the role of toughmindedness, as the second dimension in the attitude space. Subjects were 115 male and female students. Four conservatism questionnaires (C Scale: Wilson and Patterson, 1970; POI: Eysenck, 1976; MK: Cloetta, 1983; 16PF Q₁: Schneewind, Schröder and Cattell, 1983), the 16PF scales E, G, I and M, the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey ‘Study of Values’ scales (Theoretical, Economic, Aesthetic, Social, Political and Religious interest), toughmindedness, capitalism, machiavellianism, disinhibition, rigidity and intolerance of ambiguity were used as marker variables in a factor analysis to identify the two major dimensions of the attitude space, conservatism and toughmindedness. An item factor analysis of 158 attitude items served as a second means to establish a frame of reference for the location of the humour scales. The results showed that funniness of jokes based on the incongruity-resolution structure was located on the conservative side, while funniness of nonsense jokes was located on the liberal side of the C-axis. Appreciation of sex as a salient content in jokes was predicted by toughmindedness. Accordingly, incongruity-resolution sex jokes were located in the toughminded/conservative quadrant, but nonsense sex jokes were located on the T-axis. All rejection scores were located on the tenderminded side. The correlation with conservatism depended on the joke's structure, e.g. rejection of incongruity-resolution jokes was located in the tender/liberal quadrant, while rejection of nonsense jokes was located in the tender/conservative quadrant. The hypotheses were tested at the level of single jokes and also at a higher order level.     

The richness of ordinary life: Religious justification among Chile's business elite

Based on the analysis of 75 in‐depth interviews with managers and businessmen of Chile's main economic conglomerates, this article is concerned with the justification, on religious and moral grounds, of the establishment of a neo‐liberal economic model during Augusto Pinochet's regime (1973–1989) and, most importantly, with the representation of business as a religious vocation. The value granted to wealth creation as a path to salvation, as formulated by the conservative religious movements Opus Dei and the Legionaries of Christ, is one possible response to the Church's call in Vatican II for the greater involvement of the laity in their cultures and societies. In the context of an increase in pluralism during the 1960s and 1970s, the perceived shift of the Catholic Church to the Left, and the threat that the political project of Salvador Allende's socialist government (1970–1973) posed to the elite's centenary lifestyle, the practice of more conservative forms of Catholicism has allowed for a restoration of the historical bond between the elite and its religious tradition. The case of Chile's elite can be seen as an example of an increase in pluralism which does not lead to a weakening of religious belief and practice, but to their strengthening.     

Conservatism as motivated avoidance of affect: Need for affect scales predict conservatism measures

We propose that individual differences in the motivation to avoid emotions are related to political conservatism. We argue that because conservatism is concerned with managing uncertainty and emphasizes ego-control, conservative ideologies match with the motivational concerns of those individuals who find emotions to be uncertainty-enhancing and dysfunctional. In a group of 267 participants, positive associations were found between emotion avoidance and right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and support for conservative policies. Negative associations were found between emotion approach and conservatism measures.     

PERSONALITY AND SOCIO-FAMILIAL CORRELATES OF CONSERVATISM IN INDIAN YOUTH

Wilson (1973) proposed a theory that internal and external factors which lead to ‘generalized susceptibility to experiencing threat or anxiety in the face of uncertainty’ are responsible for the growth of conservatism. The present study explored the relationship of some such factors with conservatism in Indian university students (120 males, 72 females) aged 21–25 yrs. It was discovered that conservatism is characterized by low self-esteem, insecurity, anxiety and intolerance of ambiguity. It is related with lower SES and joint family system but unrelated with family size and birth-order. Conservatives are more likely to be of the older generation, of the fair sex and to have conservative parents. The findings, on the whole, lend support to Wilson's (1973) theory.     

Ideological belief bias with political syllogisms

Abstract

The belief bias in reasoning occurs when individuals are more willing to accept conclusions that are consistent with their beliefs than conclusions that are inconsistent. The present study examined a belief bias in syllogisms containing political content. In two experiments, participants judged whether conclusions were valid, completed political ideology measures, and completed a cognitive reflection test. The conclusions varied in validity and in their political ideology (conservative or liberal). Participants were sensitive to syllogisms’ validity and conservatism. Overall, they showed a liberal bias, accepting more liberal than conservative conclusions. Furthermore, conservative participants accepted more conservative conclusions than liberal conclusions, whereas liberal participants showed the opposite pattern. Cognitive reflection did not magnify this effect as predicted by a motivated system 2 reasoning account of motivated ideological reasoning. These results suggest that people with different ideologies may accept different conclusions from the same evidence.     

Effects of terrorism on attitudes and ideological orientation

A quasi‐experimental study on the effects of terrorism on racial prejudice and ideological orientation is presented. Two independent samples were contacted before and after the Islamic terrorist attacks against railways in Madrid (11 March 2004). Anti‐Arab and anti‐Semite prejudices, authoritarianism and ideological orientations (liberal against conservative) were evaluated. Results showed that those terrorist attacks provoked changes in a reactionary and conservative direction: stronger prejudices not only against the target group (Arabs), but against another uninvolved group (Jewish); an increase in authoritarianism; stronger attachment to traditional conservative values, and a reduction in the attachment to liberal values. The results are interpreted in terms of the System‐Justification Theory, the Motivated Social Cognition model of Conservatism and the Right‐Wing Authoritarianism. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Victimisation and Social Vulnerability of Adults with Intellectual Disability: Revisiting Wilson and Brewer (1992) and Responding to Updated Research

In the late 1980s police were concerned about the potential impacts of moves to close institutions housing people with mental health problems and intellectual disability. This concern resulted in a project designed to measure incidence of criminal victimisation among the latter group: face‐to‐face interviews were undertaken with 174 sheltered workshop attendees. This study highlighted the significantly heightened risk of the group for both personal and property crime and we undertook subsequent work in an attempt to identify variables that impacted upon vulnerability. The review of research extending beyond Wilson and Brewer indicated that the results were not isolated to this initial study. The paper reflects on the review to discuss research and other the activities in this area that have followed subsequently. Although advances have been made in the collection of data, and both criminal justice and social services have been encouraged to take note of this group's vulnerability, the challenge of decreasing criminal victimisation clearly remains. The nature and complexity of this challenge is described.