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How encompassing is the effect of negativity bias on political conservatism?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2014

Ariel Malka  and
Christopher J. Soto
Ariel Malka
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Yeshiva University, New York, NY 10033. amalka@yu.eduhttp://www.yu.edu/faculty/pages/Malka-Ariel
Christopher J. Soto
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology Colby College, Waterville, ME 04901. cjsoto@colby.eduhttp://www.colby.edu/directory_cs/cjsoto/
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Abstract

We argue that the political effects of negativity bias are narrower than Hibbing et al. suggest. Negativity bias reliably predicts social, but not economic, conservatism, and its political effects often vary across levels of political engagement. Thus the role of negativity bias in broad ideological conflict depends on the strategic packaging of economic and social attitudes by political elites.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 37 , Issue 3 , June 2014 , pp. 320 - 321
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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