Extreme ideology on any side produces simplistic thought, confounding rigidity-of-the-right theory

Evidence

The rigidity-of-the-right hypothesis is hard pressed to explain all of these findings. It can explain why complexity of thought fell as one moved from moderate socialists to moderate conservatives to extreme conservatives (a progression toward increasingly “authoritarian” positions) but not why complexity fell as one moved from moderate to extreme socialists, or why extreme conservatives and extreme socialists interpreted issues in equally integratively simple ways. These latter findings are difficult to explain in terms of a theoretical position that posits a special affinity between support for right-wing causes and rigid, dichotomous thought. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2332

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader literature on ideology and cognitive rigidity, and to the ‘authoritarian personality’ tradition from Adorno et al.