Study: Conservative Beliefs Come From Reduced Mental Effort
Another good one from Freakonomics. Highlights of the study on conservative thinking:
The authors test the hypothesis that low-effort thought promotes political conservatism. In Study 1, alcohol intoxication was measured among bar patrons; as blood alcohol level increased, so did political conservatism (controlling for sex, education, and political identification). In Study 2, participants under cognitive load reported more conservative attitudes than their no-load counterparts.
The findings were the same in 2 other studies.