Political Ideology and Precautionary Reasoning: Testing the Palliative Function of Right-Wing Ideology on Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms

Publisher: Guilford Publications Inc

E-ISSN: 1943-2798|35|4|450-474

ISSN: 0278-016X

Source: Social Cognition, Vol.35, Iss.4, 2017-08, pp. : 450-474

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Abstract

Precautionary models of political ideology suggest that people on the right are motivated by needs to neutralize threats in everyday life more than those on the left. This article examines whether this ideological difference extends to needs to engage in everyday precautionary actions as indexed by obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Across four samples (including a nationally representative sample), we find that stronger obsessive-compulsive symptoms are associated with more right-wing ideological preferences, particularly for social issues. Using a communication experiment, we find that exposure to real-world policy assurances from the Republican Party (i.e., the U.S. conservative party) provides a small, most likely short-lived reduction in obsessive-compulsive symptoms among Americans. We discuss how these findings shed light on the key paradox about the psychology of right-wing ideology: how right-wing ideology can function to reduce insecurity while people on the right still have higher levels of insecurity.