Deep childhood psychodynamic conflicts drive people toward conservative politics.

Evidence

The rigidity-of-the-right hypothesis is derived largely from the well-known studies of the authoritarian personality (Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson, & Sanford, 1950; Sanford, 1973). According to authoritarian personality theory, people often develop extremely conservative political-economic opinions as means of coping with deep-rooted psychodynamic conflicts that can be traced to early childhood. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2278

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the rigidity-of-the-right hypothesis and its psychodynamic origin in authoritarian personality theory.
• XREF: Connects to the broader authoritarianism literature and later refinements like right-wing authoritarianism (Altemeyer) that treat it as a personality disposition rather than a mere childhood conflict. — connects to: Conservatism is often a rationalization of unconscious destructive impulses — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1585; Harsh child-rearing produces an authoritarian personality supporting discriminatory politics. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide: The Social…, 450