“Elective Affinities”: On the Psychological Bases of Left-Right Differences
Author: John T. Jost a
Affiliation: a Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, USA
DOI: 10.1080/10478400903028599
Publication Frequency: 4 issues per year
Published in: journal Psychological Inquiry, Volume 20, Issue 2 & 3 April 2009 , pages 129 - 141
Formats available: HTML (English) : PDF (English)
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Abstract
Drawing on the concept of “elective affinities” from the writings of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Max Weber, I seek to articulate a scientific framework for understanding psychological receptiveness to ideological messages. More specifically, I summarize converging lines of research that link basic personality, cognitive, motivational, and even physiological processes to ideological differences between left and right. I also discuss situational factors such as the presence of threat that increase the affinity for political conservatism through its effect on “cognitive narrowing.” These findings and many others suggest that, contrary to Wildavsky (1989) and other skeptics, ideology is a meaningful force in people's lives and that it may be rooted in fundamental psychological antinomies, including preferences for stability versus change, order versus complexity, familiarity versus novelty, conformity versus creativity, and loyalty versus rebellion. Directions
posted by Lloyd at 7:35 PM