A recent study published in the journal Communications Psychology found that anti-democratic tendencies in the United States are not evenly distributed across the political spectrum. Research shows that conservatives exhibit stronger anti-democratic attitudes than liberals, and this difference may be partially explained by psychological characteristics, particularly right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation.
American democracy has come under increasing strain in recent years, with events such as the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol raising concerns about the state of the country’s political system. Many tend to blame both liberals and conservatives for these developments, assuming that political extremism and anti-democratic tendencies are equally present on both sides. However, the research team wanted to investigate whether this assumption held true.
“I think our interest in this topic is primarily motivated by the experiences that Americans and Brazilians have unfortunately recently shared in the political world: high levels of political polarization and conservative “Radicalization on the right-wing side led to violent and anti-democratic riots in the federal capital, proving that legitimate election results were fraudulent,” said study co-author Dr. Deborah de Oliveira Santos. said. candidate at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and former visiting scholar at the New York University Institute for Social Justice.
“So, we focused on this in understanding whether there is a relationship between ideology and anti-democratic attitudes. In this scenario, this paper It was an opportunity to take a deeper look at the differences in attitudes toward democracy and to analyze whether ideological asymmetries in attitudes toward democracy actually exist and to what extent these asymmetries are related to psychological problems.
Co-author John T. Jost, professor and director of the Institute for Social Justice at New York University, added: Behavioral tendencies and their impact on the functioning of democracy. This was the subject of my latest book, Left & Right: The Psychological Significance of a Political Distinction. ”
The study used data from the 2022 Democracy Health Survey conducted by the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center (NORC). The survey was part of the AmeriSpeak panel and included a nationally representative sample of 1,557 U.S. adults. Respondents were selected based on a variety of demographic factors, including age, race, ethnicity, education, and gender to ensure the sample reflected the broader U.S. population.
Participants answered a wide range of questions aimed at measuring political views, psychological characteristics, and attitudes toward democratic norms. Specifically, the researchers were interested in three key psychological factors: right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and the legitimation of political institutions.
Right-wing authoritarianism is characterized by authoritarian obedience (a tendency to submit to authorities deemed legitimate), authoritarian aggressiveness (a tendency to be aggressive on behalf of those authorities), and conventionalism (a high degree of compliance with the state). ) refers to a combination of three attitudes. traditional social norms). Social dominance orientation measures the extent to which an individual supports social hierarchy and inequality, while political system legitimacy measures the extent to which an individual supports the current political system and considers it legitimate. and consider it to be fair.
To assess participants’ democratic and anti-democratic tendencies, the survey includes questions on seven key areas: support for democratic rights and guarantees, political equality in voting, and support for speech. Freedom, willingness to deviate from democratic norms, tolerance of hated groups, desire for democracy, voting for anti-democratic candidates and supporting political violence.
The findings revealed significant differences between conservatives and liberals in their support for democratic principles. Conservatives were less supportive of political equality and legal rights and guarantees than liberals. In other words, conservatives are more likely to agree with statements such as “everyone should have the right to vote” or “the law should treat everyone equally, regardless of wealth or power.” It was low.
Conservatives were also more likely to support actions that violate democratic norms, such as voting for candidates who reject the legitimacy of elections and more actively justifying political violence. Specifically, “The true American way of life is disappearing so rapidly that we may have to use force to save it” and “I want to ensure that my party’s candidate is elected.” They were more likely to agree with statements such as “I support the use of violence to win.” 2024 Presidential Election” compared to liberals.
“Our results show that ideology plays an important role in shaping people’s attitudes toward democracy,” de Oliveira Santos said. “Our analysis shows that people who identify as conservatives or Republicans place less importance on democratic norms and principles.”
Importantly, these findings held even after controlling for the effects of political ideology and partisan extremism. “Contrary to common assumptions, anti-democratic attitudes do not result from ideological or partisan extremism, but rather from right-leaning ideological and partisan identification,” de Oliveira said.・Mr. Santos told Cypost. “So the idea that liberals and conservatives are equally anti-democratic doesn’t really hold true.”
“Democracy is at risk in the United States and several other countries, and the threat comes primarily from the political right, especially the far right.”
Researchers have found that the differences between liberals and conservatives are partially explained by psychological characteristics. Right-wing authoritarianism and social control orientation were both higher among conservatives and associated with greater anti-democratic tendencies.
Interestingly, legitimizing political institutions had the opposite effect. Conservatives who highly valued the legitimacy of the political system showed support for free speech, legal rights and guarantees, and were less likely to support anti-democratic behavior. This suggests that while conservatives tend to be more authoritarian and control-oriented, those who strongly believe in preserving the current political system are less likely to support anti-democratic behavior. I am doing it.
“Right-wing authoritarianism and social control orientation increased anti-democratic tendencies among those with conservative political orientations, but legitimation of political institutions appears to moderate anti-democratic attitudes.” De Oliveira Santos explained. “This finding adds to other studies by Langer et al. (2023) that there is evidence of how voting for the radical right is associated with low institutional legitimacy, and that voting for the radical right is associated with low institutional legitimacy. It could shed light on possible strategies and interventions to address attitudes and behaviors that threaten democracy on the basis of gender.”
The study also examined attitudes toward the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Among Republicans, 27.5% expressed positive feelings toward the insurrectionists, compared to just 5.96% of Democrats. Both Republicans and Democrats who supported the insurrectionists were more likely to be right-wing authoritarian than their partisans who opposed them. Social control orientation was also significantly higher among Democrats who supported insurrectionists.
This suggests that individuals on both sides of the political spectrum who supported the rebellion shared authoritarian and control-oriented psychological traits, but these tendencies were more common among Republicans. It was.
“Both Republicans and Democrats who expressed favorable sentiments towards the January 6, 2021 uprising were more conservative, and higher levels of right-wing It’s also worth mentioning that he was authoritarian.” “This finding further supports our finding that conservative ideology is a factor associated with lower support for democracy.”
However, as with any study, there are some limitations that should be considered. First, the study is based on a cross-sectional survey, meaning it captures a snapshot of people’s beliefs and attitudes at a single point in time. As a result, this study cannot establish a causal relationship.
“Because our analysis is based on a cross-sectional study, there are inferential limitations that need to be addressed in experimental or longitudinal designs,” de Oliveira Santos noted. “Furthermore, our study focuses only on the American political context, which is characterized by a high degree of political polarization and where a two-party system exists. These results are similar to those in other countries such as Brazil. We believe this may be the case across the country, but it would be appropriate to replicate the study elsewhere.”
“One thing we don’t know, and probably won’t know for several years, is how much of the ‘responsibility’ for anti-democratic behavior, so to speak, is attributable to President Trump himself, and how much is attributable to conservatives. I mean, voters who support him. ”
The researchers hope to extend this study by replicating it in different countries to see how political, cultural and institutional contexts influence the relationship between ideology and anti-democratic attitudes. I’m thinking. They also want to investigate how ideological and psychological factors, such as authoritarianism, shape support for clearly anti-democratic regimes, such as dictatorships. The long-term goal is to use social science research to help preserve and protect liberal democracies in the United States and other countries.
“Many people in academia, journalism, and other fields have a strong incentive to blame “both sides” for the dire state of American democracy, but it is clear that “both sides” are not to blame. At least not equally,” Jost said. Added. “I wrote here about the problem of “two-sided theory”.”
The study found that “liberal-conservative asymmetries in anti-democratic tendencies are partially explained by psychological differences in a nationally representative sample of the United States,” and was written by Deborah de Oliveira Santos. and John T. Jost.
