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Threat bias, not negativity bias, underpins differences in political ideology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2014

Scott O. Lilienfeld  and
Robert D. Latzman
Scott O. Lilienfeld
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322. slilien@emory.edu
Robert D. Latzman
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302-5010. rlatzman@gsu.edu
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Abstract

Although disparities in political ideology are rooted partly in dispositional differences, Hibbing et al.'s analysis paints with an overly broad brush. Research on the personality correlates of liberal–conservative differences points not to global differences in negativity bias, but to differences in threat bias, probably emanating from differences in fearfulness. This distinction bears implications for etiological research and persuasion efforts.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 37 , Issue 3 , June 2014 , pp. 318 - 319
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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