How the Perceived Moral Trajectory of Society Drives Support for Anti-Democratic Behaviour and Authoritarian Leaders

Abstract

In a series of 14 studies (total N = 9,684), we examine how the (perceived) intergroup dynamics of the “culture wars” differentially impact conservatives’ and liberals’ political cognition and behavior. Past work has shown that both liberals and conservatives perceive a strong conflict with the opposing ideological group, and seek to advance their group’s relative position within that conflict. However, our findings show that people–both liberals and conservatives alike–generally perceive that liberals have the upper hand in this conflict: People see society as becoming more liberal over time, and believe that the number of political conservatives is dwindling. This gives rise to a sense of existential threat among conservatives, who express greater concern about the continued existence of their ideological ingroup. Our findings also suggest that this sense of threat, in turn, motivates greater support for counternormative and extreme political actions (e.g., voter suppression, censoring the media, prohibiting free protest) to protect one’s political group “by any means necessary.”