Conservatives are not more fearful. Fearful people are more conservative.
I stumbled across this press release from Brown University about a study on emotional states and political stances. It turns out there’s a very strong correlation between a person’s tendency to be fearful and their political leanings.
It also shows that education has an equally strong effect. The more educated a person is, the less likely their stance will be influenced by fear.
Which explains why the GOP as currently constituted tends to oppose education so much. The last thing they want is for people to stop being afraid.