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Low-effort thought promotes political conservatism
Scott Eidelman1, Christian S Crandall, Jeffrey A Goodman
1Department of Psychology, University of Arkansas, 211 Memorial Hall, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA. eidelman@uark.edu
Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|March 20, 2012
Summary
Low-effort thinking, including alcohol intoxication and cognitive load, is linked to increased political conservatism. When deliberate thought is reduced, conservative ideology endorsement rises.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
- Political Science
Background:
- Political ideology is influenced by various cognitive and situational factors.
- Understanding the cognitive underpinnings of political attitudes is crucial for social science research.
- Previous research has explored factors affecting political beliefs, but the role of cognitive effort requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that low-effort thinking promotes political conservatism.
- To examine the relationship between cognitive processing effort and the endorsement of conservative ideology.
- To investigate how factors reducing cognitive effort influence political attitudes.
Main Methods:
- Study 1: Measured alcohol intoxication (blood alcohol level) and political conservatism in bar patrons.
- Study 2: Compared political attitudes of participants under cognitive load versus no load.
- Study 3: Assessed the impact of time pressure on endorsement of conservative terms.
- Study 4: Examined the effect of cursory versus deliberate processing of political terms on conservatism, with recognition memory as a mediator.
Main Results:
- Increased alcohol intoxication correlated with higher political conservatism.
- Participants under cognitive load reported more conservative attitudes than those without load.
- Time pressure led to increased endorsement of conservative terms.
- Cursory processing of political terms increased conservatism, partially mediated by recognition memory, suggesting reduced cognitive effort enhances conservative endorsement.
Conclusions:
- Political conservatism may be a consequence of low-effort thought processes.
- Reduced cognitive effort or disengagement of deliberate thought appears to increase the endorsement of conservative ideology.
- Findings suggest a cognitive mechanism underlying the formation and expression of political conservatism.
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