I N F R A K S H U N: Professors’ study disputes long-standing claim conservatives are more rigid thinkers

Key Takeaways

A recent study disputes the notion that conservatives are inherently more rigid in their beliefs, suggesting both conservatives and progressives exhibit similar psychological traits.
The study, involving collaboration among professors, aimed to address biases in the social sciences' examination of political ideology and emphasized fair testing of the rigidity-of-the-right hypothesis.
Findings indicate that while conservatives can be rigid, this is only sometimes and to a minor degree, and political extremity at both ends correlates with less evidence-based belief updating.
The research highlights the importance of ideological diversity in academia, suggesting that the lack of varied viewpoints may influence how political ideologies are studied.