Anticipated status loss decades away still shifts politics right

Evidence

Prior research provides compelling evidence that sensitivity to physical threats can facilitate the endorsement of political conservatism (e.g., Kanai, Feilden, Firth, & Rees, 2011; Oxley et al., 2008), as can life-threatening events (e.g., Bonanno & Jost, 2006; Nail & McGregor, 2009; Ullrich & Cohrs, 2007). The present results prompt intriguing questions regarding the boundary conditions surrounding when potential social threats may evoke conservative shift. Our results suggest that even threats not expected to be manifest for three decades can motivate political conservatism. — Maureen A. Craig and Jennifer A. Richeson, On the Precipice of a…, 89

Categorization

• XREF: Links conservative shift from physical threat (mortality salience) to the reader’s alternative axis: anticipatory demographic status threat as a parallel, non-physical trigger. — connects to: Politics reflects structural tendencies that may never become realized; Anticipatory status threat directly shifts reported political identity toward conservatism. — Maureen A. Craig and Jennifer A. Richeson, On the Precipice of a…, 69; Historical inevitability claims overreach; the past never dictates the future (+1 more)

Related

• Perceived threat to in-group status evokes greater political conservatism. (similarity 0.83)
• Anticipatory status threat directly shifts reported political identity toward conservatism. (similarity 0.83)
• Removing anticipatory status threat eliminates the conservative reaction to demographic shift. (similarity 0.82)
• Perceived demographic shift causal threat to White status shifts policy conservatism (similarity 0.81)
• Group-status threat is the proposed causal mediator of shift-induced conservatism. (similarity 0.80)
• Status-threat alleviation should cancel the shift-conservatism effect, isolating threat as the mediator. (similarity 0.79)
• Threats can produce targeted or generalized conservative shifts depending on type (similarity 0.79)
• Demographic threat generalizes conservative shift to race-neutral policy (similarity 0.79)
• Liberal and conservative participants responded similarly to demographic threat (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Anticipatory status threat directly shifts reported political identity toward conservatism. #corroborates (1.00) — Maureen A. Craig and Jennifer A. Richeson, On the Precipice of a…, 69
• Politics reflects structural tendencies that may never become realized #expands (0.72)
• Persistent inequality breeds new ideologies defending privileged positions across eras #expands (0.72)
• Historical inevitability claims overreach; the past never dictates the future #qualifies (0.70)