Thursday, December 1, 2022

What are the psychological characteristics of people holding far-right beliefs?

  • People with far right beliefs are characterized by a simplified mindset and tendency to search for order and structure.
  • They have a strong desire for group-based dominance and hierarchy, and often see social groups arranged along a superiority-inferiority dimension.
  • They perceive the wider authorities as illegitimate.
(no kidding)


Snippets:

Individuals who endorse far right ideology often have an increased desire for obedience to authority, order, purity, familiarity, structure, and a rigid worldview mentality. Particularly, they tend to adhere to a worldview that is based on authoritarianism and hierarchy between social groups. This is further reflected in their psychological profile, which is more reflective of the desire for group-based dominance and subjugation (including women’s subordination), traditionalism, and social inequality. The tendency to dominate and subjugate disadvantaged and minority groups is particularly expressed in anti-immigrant and xenophobic stances, strong preference for an ethnically, culturally and/or racially homogeneous population, and prejudice against minorities.

(SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT)

Another key feature of far right individuals is the rigidity of their mindset—a cognitive style reflected in increased closed-mindedness, simplistic style of thinking, and black-and-white perceptions of society.

Moreover, a study using a sample of white Americans with Republican affiliation[ showed that perceived psychological distress predicted stronger willingness to violently persecute political out-groups. Effects on these extremist tendencies were largely mediated by people’s increased closeness with their political leader. In other words, the more psychological distress people experience, the more they identified with their political leader, which in turn made them more willing to use violence against those identified as threats by this leader.

(EXPLAINS TRUMPISM)

In sum, holding far right beliefs increases people’s social identity and personal importance because such beliefs satisfy a need to belong to groups of like-minded people.

(This one I tend to believe is not necessarily an exclusive far right phenomenon, we ALL tend to gravitate towards groups of "like-minded people.") Don't we?


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