Supporters of Democratic candidates tend to be less cognitively rigid and more interpersonally warm than Trump supporters, according to new research published in the Journal of Social and Political Psychology. This was found to be true even for supporters of left-wing Democratic candidates such as Bernie Sanders, suggesting that extreme liberals and extreme conservatives do not share similar psychological dispositions.
There is an ongoing debate in psychology about whether liberals and conservatives fundamentally differ from each other (asymmetry), or whether both extreme liberals and conservatives are similar to each other on various psychological dimensions (symmetry), explained study author Jake Womick, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
So, for instance, past work has shown cognitive rigidity and interpersonal coldness are linked to conservatism. There is a question of whether this is unique to conservatives, or if these might apply to anyone who endorses extreme ideology, regardless of whether they are on the left or right. The 2020 primaries were a unique opportunity to address this question because, for U.S. politics, we had some relatively extreme Democratic candidates. We were thus able to examine whether supporters of these more extreme left-wing candidates looked more similar to supporters of moderate Democrats (asymmetry) or supporters of Republicans (symmetry).
In the study, 831 U.S. participants indicated on March 3, 2020, whether they planned to vote for President Donald Trump in the upcoming election or support one of the candidates in the ongoing Democratic primary race. The Democratic candidates at the time included Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden, and Michael Bloomberg.
The participants also completed psychological assessments of four variables representing cognitive rigidity (openness to experience, active open-minded thinking, dogmatism, and preference for one right answer) and two variables representing interpersonal warmth (compassion and empathy).
In general, we primarily found support for the asymmetry hypothesis, Womick told PsyPost. Supporters of relatively extreme Democratic candidates (Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren) were similar to supporters of more moderate Democratic candidates (Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg) and were not similar to Trump supporters. This trend was particularly strong for interpersonal warmth.
In other words, Sanders, Warren, and Biden supporters were less likely than Bloomberg and Trump supporters to agree with statements such as Flexibility in thinking is another name for being wishy-washy and more likely to agree with statements such as I like to be there for others in times of difficulty.
Previous research has found other instances of political asymmetry. For example, a study published in Political Psychology in 2020 found that conspiracy theories were endorsed with a greater level of intensity at the right end of the ideological spectrum. Extreme liberals were not as likely as extreme conservatives to adopt a conspiratorial mindset, those researchers said.
But the current study also hinted at the possibility of some political symmetry. Active open-minded thinking (e.g. allowing oneself to be convinced by an opposing argument) was lowest among Trump supporters, followed by Bloomberg supporters. It was highest among Warren supporters, but it dipped among Sanders supporters. A similar pattern was observed for the preference for one right answer, which was higher among Sanders supporters than among Warren supporters.
In some cases, Sanders supporters showed higher cognitive rigidity than supporters of moderate Democrats. However, they still did not show levels of cognitive rigidity comparable to Republican voters, Womick said.
Our results largely support the asymmetry hypotheses, particularly in terms of interpersonal warmth. There were some cases in which supporters of extreme Democrats were more cognitively rigid than those in the middle, but the patterns we observed were not completely symmetrical, the researcher explained.
One possible reason may be that U.S. society is relatively conservative. Thus, we may not have as many people who are as extremely liberal as one might find in other less conservative cultures. It is possible that if one were to run this study in a more liberal culture, those on the far left and far right would look more similar in terms of cognitive rigidity.
Overall, one possibility we draw from these data is that interpersonal warmth may be characteristic of left-right differences in political ideology (with those on the left being warmer, and those on the right being colder); and, cognitive rigidity may be characteristic of extreme vs. moderate belief (with those on the extreme ends being more rigid, and those in the middle being less rigid), Womick said.
The study, Testing Cognitive and Interpersonal Asymmetry vs. Symmetry Among Voters in the 2020 Presidential Primaries, was authored by Jake Womick and Laura A. King.
See original here:
- Fox News Anchor Comes Unglued, Berates 'Dumb' Liberal Colleague - The Daily Beast - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Mathew Chandy '24, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - UConn Today - University of Connecticut - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Will No One Rid Me Of These Meddlesome -Isms: Thinking and Rethinking Liberalism - Front Porch Republic - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Why market demand doesn't capture the value of the liberal arts | Letters - Tampa Bay Times - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- See what the students were wearing for the School of Liberal Studies at Savannah High prom - Savannah Morning News - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Is a $330000 liberal arts education still 'worth it?' - Los Angeles Loyolan - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Judge installed by liberal Democrats over centrist Hochul pick responsible for Harvey Weinstein ruling - New York Post - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Liberal Cities, Conservative Towns Seek Supreme Court's Help on Homelessness - The Wall Street Journal - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Luke Grimes on Yellowstones liberal critics: A lot of people see a cowboy hat and think, thats not for me - The Independent - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Liberal pundits really do have weekly meetings to 'shape' message on Trump - Washington Times - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Trump slams 'Bidenomics' ahead of court, claims to have a 'good chance' of winning liberal state - Fox News - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Ones a Conservative, Ones a Liberal. Heres Their Secret to Friendship. - InsideHook - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Bill Cotterell: What? NPR is liberal? Say it ain't so - Tallahassee Democrat - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Orban: Hungary is island in the European progressive liberal ocean - bne IntelliNews - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- NY Times keeps spotlight on NPR crisis on heels of Uri Berliner blowing whistle on liberal bias - Fox News - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- CPAC Hungary: ex Polish PM Morawiecki warns of "destructive ideas of liberal elites" - Notes From Poland - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- The biggest threat to freedom in the West is liberalism itself - The New Statesman - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Letter: NPR Editor Berliner reveals liberal bias of network - Arizona Daily Star - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Chicago native says residents livid over liberal mayor's new migrant funding, ready to vote for Trump - Fox News - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Ontario Liberal leader says Dresden landfill project could be nixed with 'stroke of a pen' - The Chatham Daily News - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Opinion: The Liberals' immigration policies have accomplished the opposite of what was intended - The Globe and Mail - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- At Issue | Was the Liberal budget a bust with Canadians? - CBC.ca - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Have the Liberal Arts Gone Conservative? - The New Yorker - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Letters to the Editor: 'I see myself in Katie Britt' what liberal critics missed in the senator's response - Los Angeles Times - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Even when it criticizes Israel, the liberal world is not against us - opinion - The Jerusalem Post - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Former Trump Aide Alyssa Farah Griffin Becomes a Liberal Favorite - The New York Times - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Renowned author, liberal arts proponent to deliver annual Lester Lectures - Mercer University - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- NYU to Host Zaheer Ali at the Annual Liberal Studies Student Research ColloquiumApril 5 - NYU - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Power to the Neighborhoods!: New York City Growth Politics, Neighborhood Liberalism, and the Origins of the ... - Joint Center for Housing Studies - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Canada's Conservatives back NDP-Liberal anti-scab legislation that undermines the right to strike - WSWS - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- The Surprising Left-Right Alliance That Wants More Apartments in Suburbs - The New York Times - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- PARKER: Clarence Thomas, liberal racism and the ongoing denigration of Black conservatives - Kankakee Daily Journal - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Liberal Media Scream: Hollywoods freaks over Trump - Washington Examiner - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Why liberals failed in the fight against antisemitism - JNS.org - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Liberal Renew manifesto sneak peek and bits from Bucharest congress - EURACTIV - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Katie Britt calls on liberal media 'to pay attention' to border - 1819 News - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Liberal truck wash cited $171k for OSHA violations - KSN-TV - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Over 30,000 Killed in Gaza, but Even Israel's 'Liberal Left' Says: That's War - Opinion - Haaretz - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Liberal Man Injured in Beaver County Accident - KSCB News.net - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- What is the Market's View on China Liberal Education Holdings Ltd (CLEU) Stock's Price and Volume Trends Monday? - InvestorsObserver - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- German liberals send defence expert into tripartite EU election leadership team - EURACTIV - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Ramaswamy warns liberal justices 'buying political latitude' with 9-0 ruling as more Trump cases lie ahead - Fox News - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- How much of this is propelled by white liberal guilt from executives?: Gutfeld - Fox News - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Liberals and the Libel of Christian Nationalism - The Imaginative Conservative - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Liberal Arts & Science Academy - Austin extends home winning streak to seven - MaxPreps - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Liberal Racism and the Denigration of Black Conservatives - Daily Signal - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Watchdog group exposes radical, liberal ideology of school-based health centers - The Lion - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- What happens when a liberal learns her family owned slaves? - Leader & Times - February 11th, 2024 [February 11th, 2024]
- Is it Liberal Arts, Without the Arts? - Xavier Newswire - February 11th, 2024 [February 11th, 2024]
- Quebec Liberal Party would be more popular with Denis Coderre at the helm: poll - Montreal Gazette - February 11th, 2024 [February 11th, 2024]
- Maine's Liberal Members of Congress Stand by Biden After Disastrous, Confused Press Conference - The Maine Wire - February 11th, 2024 [February 11th, 2024]
- Liberal Media Scream: Kristen Welker likes to lecture Republicans, too - Washington Examiner - February 11th, 2024 [February 11th, 2024]
- Australia's only Liberal government lives on - for now - Yahoo News Australia - February 11th, 2024 [February 11th, 2024]
- Liberal institutions are the threat to liberal institutions Claudine Gay is warning about - Washington Examiner - January 10th, 2024 [January 10th, 2024]
- Elon Musk, the "free speech absolutist" kicks liberal journalists off Twitter - Daily Kos - January 10th, 2024 [January 10th, 2024]
- Liberal Arts and studies in humanities under attack on college campuses - The Community Word - January 10th, 2024 [January 10th, 2024]
- Liberal candidate for federal byelection planned to run for Conservatives last year - National Post - January 10th, 2024 [January 10th, 2024]
- Bill Barton: 'The Liberal by the Bay' - Redheaded Blackbelt - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- OPINION | Female-dominated liberal arts imperative in male-dominated tech world - Tulane Hullabaloo - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Dean of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts job with Tarleton State University | 37572379 - The Chronicle of Higher Education - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Laughing Stock: 'A liberal agenda' may not be what you think - Tucson Weekly - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Justin Trudeau plays the Trump card - POLITICO - POLITICO - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Norman Lear, Producer Of TV's 'All In The Family' And Influential Liberal Advocate, Dies At 101 - Newstalk 750 - 103.7 ... - KFQD - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Kremlin Taps Liberal Businessman to Oppose Putin in 2024 Election Report - The Moscow Times - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Norman Lear, producer of TV's 'All in the Family' and influential liberal advocate, has died at 101 - WV News - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- MoveOn Carries Out Layoffs as Liberal Groups Struggle to Raise Money - The New York Times - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Norman Lear, producer of TV's 'All in the Family' and influential liberal advocate, has died at 101 - El Paso Inc. - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- UW System President suggests universities with high numbers of low income students should shift away from liberal arts - Wisconsin Examiner - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Norman Lear, producer of TV's 'All in the Family' and influential liberal advocate, has died at 101 - The Caledonian-Record - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Israels representative in New York resigned to protest Netanyahu. Now hes got some tough words for liberal New York Jews. - Forward - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Neal Milner: Watch That Swinging Door, Liberals, Lest It Hit You On The Way Out - Honolulu Civil Beat - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- The Liberal Answer to Cancel Culture - Manhattan Institute - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Study: Liberal US priests facing 'progressive' extinction - The Pillar - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Liberal Jewish U.S. Groups Are Walking an Oh-So-Thin Tightrope - The New Republic - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Why a liberal arts degree is often a ticket to career success - USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Open Forum: In their time, founding fathers were liberal - The Winchester Star - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Liberals announce National Campaign Committee Co-Chairs - Liberal Party of Canada - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- UT College of Liberal Arts hosts panel about Senate Bill 17 - The Daily Texan - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Liberal Arts student uses platform to educate others on the ... - Pennsylvania State University - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Stanford celebrates 50 years of Structured Liberal Education ... - Stanford University News - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]