TY - JOUR
T1 - Interpersonal attachment and patterns of ideological belief
AU - Weber, Christopher
AU - Federico, Christopher M.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2007/8
Y1 - 2007/8
N2 - We examine whether two general dimensions of sociopolitical belief - right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) - are rooted in insecure psychological attachment. Based on an undergraduate sample (N = 255), we model the relations among attachment styles, general worldviews, RWA, and SDO. A structural equation model indicated that anxious attachment led to RWA but not SDO and that this effect was mediated by the belief that the world is a dangerous place. In contrast, avoidant attachment led to SDO but not RWA, and this effect was mediated by the belief that the world is an uncaring, competitive jungle in which people are motivated to maximize personal utility. We discuss the implications of these findings for the nature and origins of political conservatism.
AB - We examine whether two general dimensions of sociopolitical belief - right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) - are rooted in insecure psychological attachment. Based on an undergraduate sample (N = 255), we model the relations among attachment styles, general worldviews, RWA, and SDO. A structural equation model indicated that anxious attachment led to RWA but not SDO and that this effect was mediated by the belief that the world is a dangerous place. In contrast, avoidant attachment led to SDO but not RWA, and this effect was mediated by the belief that the world is an uncaring, competitive jungle in which people are motivated to maximize personal utility. We discuss the implications of these findings for the nature and origins of political conservatism.
KW - Attachment
KW - Dual-process model
KW - Ideology
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1467-9221.2007.00579.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1467-9221.2007.00579.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:34547380814
SN - 0162-895X
VL - 28
SP - 389
EP - 416
JO - Political Psychology
JF - Political Psychology
IS - 4
ER -