A study is out that is being interpreted by some as claiming that the conservative position is the “default,” and that it takes more thought effort to be “liberal.” From “Is Conservatism Our Default Ideology?”:
A research team led by University of Arkansas psychologist Scott Eidelman argues that conservatism — which the researchers identify as “an emphasis on personal responsibility, acceptance of hierarchy, and a preference for the status quo” — may be our default ideology. If we don’t have the time or energy to give a matter sufficient thought, we tend to accept the conservative argument. “When effortful, deliberate responding is disrupted or disengaged, thought processes become quick and efficient,” the researchers write in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. “These conditions promote conservative ideology.”
Eidelman and his colleagues’ paper will surely outrage many on the left (who will resist the notion of conservatism as somehow natural) and the right (who will take offense to the idea that their ideology is linked to low brainpower). The researchers do their best to preemptively answer such criticism. “We do not assert that conservatives fail to engage in effortful, deliberate thought,” they insist. “We find that when effortful thought is disengaged, the first step people take tends to be in a conservative direction.”...
This suggests liberals face a significant challenge in converting people to their cause. As Eidelman puts it: “It might take a little extra effort to convince yourself (to support a liberal position), and a little extra work to convince others.”
What if the “default” is already liberal? In San Francisco, for example, the knee jerk reaction to anything—before deep thought is engaged, a rare occurance among the hyper ideologues who reign here—is overwhelmingly the hard left position. So, is that kind of paradigm “conservative” or liberal?”
I have no doubt that our first instinct is to stick with what we know or already believe. In fact, I don’t think we need a study to prove that. But to assume this implies that one ideological approach is somehow more intelligent or thought oriented than another, is baloney.
But Wesley, it’s a study! Right. Signifying nothing.
