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41 - Two Sides of the Same Coin

A New Look at Differences and Similarities across Political Ideology

from Part IV - Diversifying Perspectives in Political Psychology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2022

By
Joris Lammers  and
Matthew Baldwin
Edited by
Danny Osborne  and
Chris G. Sibley
Danny Osborne
Affiliation:
University of Auckland
Chris G. Sibley
Affiliation:
University of Auckland
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Summary

Traditionally, one of the main focuses of political psychology has been to identify the motives, needs, and other deep psychological differences shape ideological differences between liberals and conservatives bottom-up. We review this literature and offer some critique of it. Next, we argue that rather than trying to test how deep psychological differences produce ideological differences, it may be more fruitful to test how liberals’ and conservatives’ support for and opposition to specific political policies depends on how these policies are construed. We propose that this top-down approach not only offers methodological and theoretical advantages, while requiring less theoretical assumptions, but also may have the applied benefit of allowing the field to help opponents understand the reason for their mutual opposition and identify routes to increase cooperation across the ideological divide. This can help political psychology be a force that promotes overcoming partisan polarisation and increasing mutual understanding.

Keywords

Political differencesMotivated social cognitionIdeologyConstrualFraming
Type
Chapter
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The Cambridge Handbook of Political Psychology , pp. 674 - 686
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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