Is political conservatism synonymous with authoritarianism?

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Political Psychology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Conservative political ideology and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) are often conflated in research.
• Understanding the distinct psychological underpinnings of these constructs is crucial for political and social science.
• Cognitive rigidity, a tendency to resist cognitive change, has been theoretically linked to both conservatism and RWA.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empirically test the distinction between conservative political ideology and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA).
• To investigate the role of cognitive rigidity in relation to both RWA and conservative ideology.
• To examine whether RWA mediates the relationship between cognitive rigidity and mainstream conservative attitudes.

Main Methods:

• Two empirical studies were conducted.
• Measures of cognitive rigidity, RWA, mainstream conservative ideology, and self-identified conservatism were employed.
• Statistical analyses included partial-correlation and path analyses to assess mediation.

Main Results:

• Moderate relationships were found between RWA and cognitive rigidity measures.
• The association between cognitive rigidity and mainstream conservative ideology was weaker than with RWA.
• Results indicated that conservatism is not synonymous with RWA.
• Right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) partially mediated the relationship between cognitive rigidity and mainstream conservatism.

Conclusions:

• Conservative ideology and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) are distinct constructs.
• RWA plays a partial mediating role in the association between cognitive rigidity and conservative attitudes.
• These findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the psychological correlates of political ideology.