"In Defense of Those Wascally Wepublicans"

A study in the February 2007 issue of Psychology Today reports that conservatism has specific psychological catalysts. Conservatives, who are more likely to be the subjects of a psychology study involving political leanings, and their conservative values are balked down to the 1958 Webster's definition (which IronShrink.com points out).

IronShrink.com actually takes on three methodological issues with the study in favor of, or in defense of, "those wascally wepublicans," as phrased in the title. (I had to quote it for this post's title... it was too good not to!)

You may have heard the news by now. People who hold conservative political opinions are suffering from a syndrome in need of a cure. How do we know this? Because a professor of psychology has demonstrated it to be so. The news has been getting a lot of press lately. - IronShrink.com

What a great intro to this article. I found this through Michelle Malkin's blog (which I frequent), and couldn't help laughing when I clicked to read more. I had heard tidbits about this sort of study before, but now there's a recent one that we can all relate to.

[The authors] offer a two-part definition of conservatism that serves as the foundation for their study and establishes the parameters for the theories and the data they examine. They hypothesize that a meta-analysis of previous studies will reveal that "people embrace political conservatism (at least in part) because it serves to reduce fear, anxiety, and uncertainty; to avoid change, disruption, and ambiguity; and to explain order, and justify inequality among groups and individuals" (p. 340). - IronShrink.com

Well, I'm glad to know that people who know better also use the "Webster's Dictionary defines..." back-up for guilt from feeling "I-guess-I-should-have-done-more-research-on-this-and-know-my-topic/subject." And now it's published in Psychology Today.

And then there are nuggets of joy like this:

You may be wondering how the authors managed to lump Stalin in with conservatives, thereby avoiding the sticky business of Marxist authoritarians. The authors explain that Stalin

"...secretly admired Hitler and identified with several right-wing causes (including anti-Semitism). In the Soviet context, Stalin was almost certainly to the right of his political rivals, most notably Trotsky. In terms of his psychological makeup as well, Stalin appears to have had much in common with right-wing extremists" (p. 343).

So there ya' go. Stalin was less Marxist than others, mind readers have determined that he had a crush on Hitler, and he kinda looked like a conservative. Ergo, Stalin was a conservative. Impeccable logic. - IronShrink.com

And this next snippet might just sum up the entirety of the problems with the study, thanks to ignorance. (Don't they accuse conservatives of being ignorant? Oh, wow, I wonder if that means these psychologists are secretly conservatives!)

When you ignore other issues, guess what you'll find: your own hypothesis supported, confirmed, and wrapped up in a pretty bow. - IronShrink.com

Read the rest of what IronShrink.com has to say about this cough syrup remedy for the problem America calls conservatism. And IronShrink? Thank you, from the bottom of my "Wascally Wepublican" heart. :)