Centrality of a belief is measured by its resistance to change.
Evidence
We might characterize either the idea-elements themselves or entire belief systems in terms of many other dimensions. Only two will interest us here. First, the idea-elements within a belief system vary in a property we shall call centrality, according to the role that they play in the belief system as a whole. That is, when new information changes the status of one idea-element in a belief system, by postulate some other change must occur as well. There are usually, however, several possible changes in status elsewhere in the system, any one of which would compensate for the initial change. Let us imagine, for example, that a person strongly favors a particular policy; is very favorably inclined toward a given political party; and recognizes with gratification that the party’s stand and his own are congruent. (If he were unaware of the party’s stand on the issue, these elements could not in any direct sense be constrained within the same belief system.) Let us further imagine that the party then changes its position to the opposing side of the issue. Once the information about the change reaching the actor has become so unequivocal that he can no longer deny that the change has occurred, he has several further choices. Two of the more important ones involve either a change in attitude toward the party or a change in position on the issue. In such an instance, the element more likely to change is defined as less central to the belief system than the element that, so to speak, has its stability ensured by the change in the first element. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1853
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines ‘centrality’ within a belief system via the party-position-change thought experiment.
- XREF: Connects to cognitive dissonance theory and Converse’s later work on belief system constraint in mass publics.
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1853