When The Right is Not so Rigid: Political Ideology And Charitable Giving Revisited

The mental rigidity of ideological conservatives, known as the rigidity-of-the-right, is well-documented. In their thorough review, Jost et al. (2003, 352) conclude that “by far the most convincing research on left-right differences pertains to epistemic motives associated with mental rigidity and closed-mindedness.” Consequently, conservatives tend not to seek out or even consider the opinions of others when making judgments and decisions, and are especially resistant to the views of liberals. With this research, we offer a more nuanced understanding of conservative ideological responses, predicting that conservatives may update their decisions toward the perceived norms of a common audience to manage their impressions with the in-group. Though perhaps seemingly in conflict with the “rigidity of the right,” conservatives emphasize the group and are more strongly motivated to adhere to social norms and conventions than are liberals (Jost et al. 2003). Conservatives and liberals have distinct moral foundations, with conservatives placing a greater value on binding or group-focused moral foundations, which include group loyalty and duty (Graham, Haidt, and Nosek 2009). Also, conservatives may be more agreeable than liberals. Hirsh et al. (2010) distinguish between two subtraits of agreeableness: compassion and politeness. While compassion reflects empathy and interpersonal concern and thus is associated with liberals, politeness is more closely linked to norm compliance and traditionalism and reflective of conservative beliefs (Hirsch et al. 2010). Thus, conservatives are motivated by politeness and complying with social norms, which are likely to be salient in public situations.