American Conservative Political Orientation: Masculine Independence, Religious Traditionalism, and Ethnic Separateness
Year: 2016
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Many studies of political orientation (PO) construe conservatism as a unidimensional construct, linked to variables reflecting heavier negativity bias. Paradoxically, conservatism is also linked to indicators of positive adjustment, social connectedness, and well-being. In 5 studies, I test how empirically derived factors of PO relate to variables relevant to negativity bias versus positive adjustment, and collective- versus individual-focus. Study 1 replicates a positive association between unidimensional conservatism and Satisfaction with Life (SWL), demonstrating that conservatives’ lower neuroticism can account for this association. Studies 2a, 2b, 3, and 4 develop a 33-item Attitude-Based PO (ABPO) Scale measuring what emerges as three factors of conservatism, starting with a pool of 214 items. I interpret the dimensions, based on item content and individual difference predictors, as Masculine Independence (MI), Religious Traditionalism (RT), and Ethnic Separateness (ES). They constitute three correlated but distinct dimensions of PO, each of which accounts for incremental variance in unidimensional conservatism and voting behaviour. MI, including attitudes toward taxation, environmental issues, health care, and government reach, is the only factor positively associated with SWL, and negatively with neuroticism and disgust sensitivity, clashing with findings linking unidimensional conservatism to negativity bias. RT issues include abortion, stem cell research, and euthanasia; RT is associated with religiosity and – when MI and ES are controlled for – femininity and higher agreeableness. ES issues include bi-racial families, refugees, and foreign aid. ES is associated with racism and accounts for the positive bivariate correlations of racism with MI and RT. I suggest that bidimensional models based on fiscal and social conservatism are not well-founded; MI is a mix of economically and socially relevant factors, RT is a social factor exclusively comprising issues relevant to Christian faith, and ES issues are also fiscally and socially relevant. Throughout, MI is linked with indicators of positive adjustment, while RT and ES associate more expectedly with indices of negativity bias. RT exclusively is linked with indicators of benevolent collective-focus toward one’s ingroup members, while MI and ES are not. Thus, the ABPO scale stands to further clarify the associations of distinct dimensions of conservative PO with negativity bias and collective-focus.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Caitlin M. Burton
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2613505788