Stronger Issues, Weaker Predispositions

By Paul Goren

Political psychologists have long theorized that authoritarianism structures the positions people take on cultural issues and their party ties. Authoritarianism is durable; it resists the influence of other political judgments; and it is very impactful-in a word, it is strong. By contrast, researchers characterize the attitudes most people hold on most issues as unstable and ineffectual-in a word, weak. But what is true of most issues is not true of the issues that have driven America's long running culture war-abortion and gay rights. This Element demonstrates that moral issue attitudes are stronger than authoritarianism. With data from multiple sources over the period 1992-2020, it shows that (1) moral issue attitudes endure longer than authoritarianism; (2) moral issues predict change in authoritarianism; (3) authoritarianism does not systematically predict change in moral issues; and (4) moral issues have always played a much greater role structuring party ties than authoritarianism.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1009529315
• ISBN13: 9781009529310
• Release Date: January 2025
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 76 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"