Political
mindsets are the product of an individual’s upbringing, life experiences, and
environment. But are there specific experiences that lead a person to choose
one political ideology over another?
New research
from psychological scientist R. Chris Fraley of the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign and colleagues suggest that parenting practices and childhood
temperament may play an influential role. Their study is published online in
Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Existing
research suggests that individuals whose parents espoused authoritarian
attitudes toward parenting (e.g., valuing obedience to authority) are more
likely to endorse conservative values as adults.
journal
reference (abstract free): Psychological Science >>