Lib/Con writeup

Method.
A matrix of psychological traits was imagined along 10 dimensions of political discourse within which there are different levels of conservative and liberal attitudes or beliefs.
These dimensions, representing the conservative and liberal worldviews respectively, are:

1. Religious beliefs. Fundamentalism versus kindly religious beliefs.

2. Group belongingness preferences. Social disenfranchisement versus feeling accepted.

3. Gender attitudes. Male superiority versus female egalitarianism.

4. Foreign policy. Militarism/competition/dominance versus peacefulness, cooperation/equality.

5. Government type preferences: In-group services versus all group service.

6. Economics: Self-serving versus sharing.

7. Civilian violence management: Violence, self-protection versus civility promotion.

8. Social group relations: Dominance versus social egalitarianism.

9. Locus of government authority: Authoritarian elite versus citizen authority.

10. Environment policy: Consumption versus conservation.
Within each of these dimensions the author imagined 6 cells of content, three on the hypothesized conservative side and three on the liberal side. Within each cluster of three were imagined three levels. The "a" level is a basic underlying psychological trait, such as religious fundamentalism on the conservative side. The "b" cell is the overt political manifestation of the "a" level trait. This is the overt political attitudes, policies, and preferences of citizens on the content of the dimension, conservative political religious policies, in this first example. These are beliefs that are openly discussed in the media. The "c" cell represents corresponding covert religious attitudes, ones that are extreme enough to be kept private, e.g. to avoid criticism, especially from political opponents, perhaps as "politically incorrect". These covert beliefs might not be respected by voters, either.
The corresponding cells on the liberal side are "d", "e" and "f", Kindly Religious Beliefs, their overt political manifestations, and their covert beliefs.
For the present study 60 primary scales were used, listed in Table 2. The SDO-6 scale based on the work of Sidanius and Pratto is scale 7a. Many scales were ones previously written by the author, or based on them (McConochie, 2008c). These include Religious Fundamentalism (1a), Kindly Religious Beliefs (1d), Social Disenfranchisement (the Eidelson worldviews) (2a), Warmongering Endorsement (4a), Positive Foreign Policy Endorsement (4d), Violence Proneness, (8a), Human Rights Endorsement (8d), Authoritarianism Endorsement (9a), and Sustainability Endorsement (10d).
The remaining scales were written by the author specifically for this study. An attempt was made to create measures that were independent of each other in content but true to the level of the dimension of which they were a part (basic trait, overt political content, covert underlying content).

With rare exceptions, the scales were created with all pro-trait items. The reasons for this were several. The author has found in a prior study that such scales are not artificially more reliable and valid than their half con-trait counterparts and are viewed by research subjects who take them to be easier to understand and more user-friendly (McConochie, 2007). In very large studies, such as this one with 800 items, maintaining participant motivation and concentration is aided by making the process as user-friendly as possible.

Also, it did not seem to be a concern to have each scale include con-trait (reverse-scored) items because each scale was complemented with a hypothesized counterpart measuring its opposite trait, e.g. Kindly Religious Beliefs (1d) versus Religious Fundamentalism (1a) and Female Respect (3d) versus Male Dominance (3a). In a sense, thus, most trait measures constituted the con-trait items of their mirror counterparts. If persons had a tendency in the study to mark items in a manner significantly indifferent to the content of the items, as from an "acquiescence bias", then the scales would tend to be unreliable. Reliable scales would tend to refute concerns that response biases influenced responses. The author has created dozens of tests that have proven to be reliable and valid for use in clinical, I/O and research use and thus had confidence that the scales in the present study would also be reliable and valid.
Also, if people tended to mark all items in one direction, e.g. all high or all low, then we would expect scales measuring theoretical opposites, e.g. positive foreign policy versus warmongering endorsement, to correlate positively with each other rather than negatively. This was checked when data was obtained for the present study. All pairs of scales measuring theoretically opposite ends of a dimension did indeed correlate negatively with each other.
All con-trait scales have the further advantage of being much easier to score. Ease of scoring reduces the chance of mistakes when processing data.
Also, the author is of the opinion that denying a con-trait item does not necessarily mean that the subject endorses the pro-trait dimension that one hopes to measure. For example, strongly denying that one is a pacifist does not mean that one is a warmonger. It is better to measure warmongering with all pro-trait items and then separately measure pacifism with all pro-trait measures. There were a few exceptions to this rule when using previously designed scales that include con-trait items, such as the SDO-6 scale. However, even this scale has all its con-trait items in a cluster at the end and was used in this format for the present study.
In general the author was not concerned with fear of response bias distorting responses, e.g. by marking all items high or all low. And, as has been typical in his prior studies, data analysis revealed that only a few (in this instance two) of the research subjects marked their answer sheets mechanically (e.g. all 3's or all 1's). They were discarded.
In addition, in the present study subjects gave responses that often clearly shifted at the last item in a c scale and the first in the corresponding d scale, indicating an appropriate shift in response set to reflect the shift from conservative to liberal worldview predicted by the study design and documented by consistent positive correlations between scales in columns a, b and c as a cluster and scales d, e and f as a cluster, and consistent negative correlations between scales a, b and c on the one hand and scales d, e and f on the other. In short, the subjects kept in the study appeared rather obviously to be responding to the content of the questionnaire items, not in some irrelevant, mechanical, response-set mode.
The items were all presented in 5-option Likert scale format, with options ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree.
The scales were put in four questionnaires for delivery via the Internet at the author's web site, politicalpsychologyresearch.com. They were put in clusters such that each questionnaire had about 200 items, in addition to demographic items and an introductory informed consent page complying with professional ethical concerns. Students in a psychology class at a local community college were invited to participate in the study for extra credit in their class, taught by the secondary author, Professor David Leung. As many as 56 persons completed the first questionnaire; 49 completed all four of them.
Two thirds of the sample was women, one third were men. The mean age was 28, standard deviation 12.3 years. The mean education level was 13.7 years, standard deviation 1.5 years. The mean high school grade was C+.
The best way to appreciate the content of each scale is to read the items in that scale. An introduction to this content is provided in Table 1, which presents a few items from each scale. When reading these sample items, keep in mind that a and d scales attempt to measure basic human traits, b and e scales attempt to measure overt political attitudes, and c and e scales intend to measure unspoken, perhaps politically “incorrect” beliefs. There are a few exceptions, noticeable in retrospect, e.g. in division 6, which includes government policy at virtually all three levels on both the conservative and liberal sides. These exceptions were perhaps a function of the topic areas, or an oversight by the author. More distinct scales could perhaps be created.
In addition to the ten dimensions presented in Table 1, scales 11a and d represent the miscellaneous items and scale 12 consists of all of the primitive tribal worldview items.

Table 1. Scale names and sample items.

1a. Religious fundamentalism. There is only one true God. There is only one source of absolute truth, the holy religious scriptures or writings of my religion.

1b. Religious conservatism. Our nation cannot be strong unless it is favored and blessed by my God. The truths about my religious faith, e.g. how the earth was created, should be taught in public schools.

1c. Security-oriented religion. My religion is the best way to explain a confusing and frightening world. I find comfort in imagining a perfect place, like heaven.

1d. Kindly religious beliefs. God takes many forms for different peoples around the world. Violence against fellow humans is inappropriate.

1e. Religious liberalism. Our government should not favor any one religion over any other. Whether a woman has an abortion is primarily for her and her doctor to decide and should not be governed by other citizens' religious beliefs.

1f. Spiritual eclecticism. I am comfortable around people who have religious beliefs very different from my own. To keep a separation of church from state we should not print “In God We Trust” or other religious slogans on our money.

2a. Social disenfranchisement/compensatory superiority. I am more special and important than other people are. I prefer to be a member of a group that is entitled to special rights that we will fight for, if necessary.

2b. Cultural conservatism. Our nation is the best and should strive to keep its status. My preferred political group's judgment on important political matters is virtually always correct.

2c. In-group elitism. I prefer to be a member of an elite, special group. Large, powerful corporations are more important to our nation than are individual citizens.

2d. Social enfranchisement/all group respect. I identify with all humanity. I generally trust people and groups that I do not yet know very well.

2e. Cultural Egalitarianism. “All men are created equal” means to me that all humans should have the same basic rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, jobs, educational opportunities and health care. We should support research on stem cells and other technologies that hold promise for improved medical treatments.

2f. Egalitarian Philosophy. I believe that all individual persons have equal value, regardless of nationality, race, color or religious beliefs. Our nation should design effective birth control programs to offer nations that need and want such help.

3a. Male dominance preference. It gives me a sense of security to know that males are strong and powerful. I would rather be a member of a lion pride, where the most important member is the strongest male, than a member of a beehive, where the most important member is the queen bee.

3b. Masculine politics. In general, males make better leaders than do females. With few, if any, exceptions, there should be no birth control measures or abortions for the women of our group.

3c. Alpha male-ism. Male humans are superior to females in almost all ways. Our group should increase in numbers relative to other groups.

3d. Female respect. I think women deserve just as much basic respect as men in all matters. I am comfortable with scientific reports that girls mature more rapidly than boys.

3e. Female politics. Women should have equal say with men on legislation that directly affects women per se, such as abortion laws. Women should have full government support in getting jobs, promotions and pay equal to that of men.

3f. Female dignity. Women should be honored for their exceptional contributions to human culture. For every public statue of a famous man, a community deserves one of an equally famous or honorable woman.

4a. Warmongering endorsement. My national government should do what best serves our nation's interests, at the expense of other nations, enforced by military action if necessary. It is more honorable to serve one's nation as a warrior in combat than as an anti-war protester.

4b. National militarism. Our nation should maintain the strongest possible military strength, even in times of peace. We should have a unilateral military foreign policy, going it alone, if we can find no allies among other nations.

4c. Militaristic Philosophy. I believe in survival of the fittest...that the strongest are destined to survive while weaker individuals don't. I think that civilian vehicles that look like military ones, like the Jeep or Humvee, are really neat.

4d. Positive foreign policy endorsement. In foreign policy, our nation should...share our natural resources with other nations via trade programs.....and...set limits on our consumption of world resources so resources are available for other nations.

4e. Peace politics. In the U.S., only Congress, not the President, should declare war. We should support United Nations programs to quickly stop civil wars and genocides.

4f. Peace promotion. Citizens via referendum vote should be able to terminate war that their nation is waging. The U.S. National Peace Institute should have free reign to promote research on warmongering and other inappropriate war-related behavior by U.S. leaders.

5a. Special interest group government. Government should serve primarily the most powerful segment of a nation. I can imagine belonging to a special interest group that would feel justified in overthrowing an existing government by military coup.

5b. Power politics government. Government should serve the special interest groups that have the most money. Elected officials should vote on legislation the way their biggest campaign contributors want them to.

5c. Elitist government philosophy. Government should be controlled by the wealthiest citizens. Government should be willing to make its own policies as it sees fit, even imprisoning and eliminating opposition citizens.

5d. Common good democracy endorsement. Elected officials should run government to serve the current and long-term best interests of the community overall...no one special interest group should be favored. Government should have policies that promote a world safe for lower species.

5e. Majority opinion government. Majority opinion of all citizens and their fairly chosen representatives should drive government decisions. Big money should be kept out of campaign contributions, so that elected officials aren't indebted primarily to their biggest contributors.

5f. All citizen government. Government should serve the interests of all citizens. Government should carefully assess and heed public opinion in setting policies and programs.

6a. Profit economics. It is more important that we use natural resources to make money now than to conserve resources for the future. It is more important that big corporations be free to make money than to protect the environment from air pollution and greenhouse gasses.

6b. Conservative economics. Taxes on wealthy people should be kept as low as possible. Military budgets should be increased.

6c. Self-wealth economics. Ideally, no citizen should have to pay any taxes. I do not worry about future generations having to pay for our nation's current borrowing and spending.

6d. Balanced economics. The national budget should be balanced, not spending more than we take in. I prefer a reduction in our government's military spending.

6e. Liberal economics. Progressive income taxes are reasonable, with the wealthy paying more than the less wealthy. Government should promote programs to assure adequate jobs for all able-bodied citizens who can work.

6f. Share economics. Citizens who have above-average income should share it (via taxes) with citizens who make less. Citizens should have a direct vote on how much of the national budget is allocated to each major category: military, foreign aid, health, national parks, etc.

7a. Violence-proneness. I often fall asleep feeling mad or angry. It would be very easy to get my hands on a gun and bullets during the next week without anyone else knowing much about it.

7b. Violence enabling. Citizens should be allowed to own rifles and shotguns. We should put more money into police forces than into school counseling for violence prone-children.

7c. In-group self-defense. I feel safer in my country than I would in any other country. One important reason our citizens must have rights to own handguns is for self-defense in their own homes.

7d. Social agreeableness. I seldom lose sleep over angry feelings. I think cooperation with people from other lands is better than competition against them.

7e. Violence prevention. I think it is shameful that citizens of our country have lynched minority group members in times past. We should do more to prevent child abuse in our families.

7f. Civility promotion. We should encourage the Catholic church to do research to understand and prevent priests from sexually abusing parishioners. We should have an amendment to the Constitution that mandates diplomacy, conflict mediation and other sophisticated, peaceful techniques be used by our national leaders before they resort to war.

8a. Social Dominance Orientation. Some groups of people are simply inferior to other groups. Inferior groups should stay in their place.

8b. In-group favoritism. The platform of my favored political party should be determined by an elite group of party leaders. It doesn't matter much that some workers lose their jobs in hard times, as long as employers can keep their businesses going.

8c. Power oligarchy. Our party should do whatever is necessary to win elections for party members. Lower class people failing to get to the polls to vote for national leaders is not that bad, because they often vote for the less appropriate candidates.

8d. Human rights endorsement. All people of all nations should have the same basic human rights, such as life and liberty. We should affirm the right of indigenous (native) peoples to their spirituality, knowledge, lands and resources and to their related practices of sustainable livelihoods.

8e. Anti-oligarchy policy. Government should not be controlled or run by families and relatives of leaders just because they are related. We should discourage political power maintained by economic favoritism given to political party loyal supporters.

8f. Social Egalitarianism. All groups of civil citizens should be respected for their unique place in society. A nation should not assign nasty, dangerous jobs, such as foot soldiering in war, primarily to underprivileged minority groups or classes of citizens.

9a. Authoritarianism. Persons should learn to depend on rules given by authorities more than trust their own judgments. We should not question persons in positions of authority but rather take them at their word.

9b. Nationalism. Our nation is entitled to more of the benefits of the world than are other nations. My preferred political party always has the best ideas and policies for our nation.

9c. Leader Devotion. In general, the leaders of a group are more important than are the group members, Without powerful leaders, there would be immediate chaos in society. I would be comfortable with a political leader who was almost Godlike in power and wisdom.

9d. Progressive government. Government should do more to assure affordable housing. Government should do more to improve government itself.

9e. Liberal Political Agenda. Government should provide sufficient regulation of major financial institutions to assure the security of their savers and funding for qualified personal and business borrowers. Government should reduce the “earmarks” system of entitlements based on deal-making among politicians instead of what is fair overall and truly needed by citizens.

9f. Citizen authority. Our government should conduct carefully designed polls to determine how citizens want government to run and incorporate the findings into government policy. Our government should fund research on the development and maintenance of sustainable communities, to include the carrying capacity of each county and state (the number of people that can be supported by the available energy, fresh water, jobs and resources in the area).

10a. Personal resource use. I am not concerned about global warming. I see nothing wrong with burning coal in electrical generating plants.

10b. Government resource use. Our government should support oil drilling even at the risk of harm to the environment. Government should not require that farmers plant crops or plow their fields in ways to reduce topsoil erosion.

10c. Human natural resource use. Humans are destined to dominate all lower forms of life on earth. Maintaining our nation's power with much use of oil is too important to worry about global warming.

10d. Sustainability community endorsement. My national government should support … international treaties and efforts to reduce greenhouse gasses and global warming. ...and a national health care system that provides basic, affordable care and protects communities from disease epidemics.

10e. Green/clean/safe politics. Our national forests should be protected from excessive cutting so there is an endless crop of harvestable trees. Government should establish and enforce adequate standards to minimize harmful discharge of sewer and industrial waste products into our streams and rivers.

10f. Ideal sustainability. Our government should fund and encourage research on the design of sustainable communities. Our government should support research on how communities can provide adequate jobs for all employable citizens without constant growth of land area covered by houses and commercial buildings.

11a. Miscellaneous hypothetical conservative values. I tend not to worry about poor or unfortunate people unrelated to me. There may be times when we may need to take military action to keep groups of diseased people from invading our country. It is smart for my preferred political leaders to lie and cheat if necessary to win elections and hang onto political power. If scientists come up with facts that are contrary to my religious beliefs, I expect my religious leaders to explain why the claims of the scientists are false.

11d. Miscellaneous hypothetical liberal values. I feel deep concern for the less fortunate citizens of my own nation. I value friendships and experiences more than physical possessions. I like abstract beauty in art and music such as blues, jazz and symphonies. Candidates for political office should not degrade their opponents to make them look bad.

12. Primitive society model. Imagine there is a primitive human community, perhaps in the Amazon river basin in South America or in the forests of New Guinea. Imagine that in a certain tribe there are a few basic beliefs and attitudes that are held by a few different types of citizens. Please try to imagine which of these beliefs and attitudes you would agree with if you were one of these citizens: 34. We must be very concerned about keeping diseased people from other nearby tribes from coming into our territory. 35. We should look for ways to trade goods with neighboring tribes. 36. We should protect and preserve our own unique religious beliefs and practices from change. 37. We should consider new religious beliefs and ideas from time to time. 38. I would strongly support efforts to train our young men in use of war weapons. 39. I would strongly support a group that wanted to go exploring into foreign territories to make new friends. 40. We should preserve our own unique language, keeping it pure and special. 41. We should occasionally incorporate new words into our language, adopting words from other neighboring languages. 42. We should fight neighboring tribes to kill their men and take their women captive. 43. We should have occasional friendly meetings with neighboring tribes to dance, sing and arrange marriages between our young people.