Scarily Coming To The Centre: Political Centrism As An Effect Of Mortality Salience And A Need For Closure. ABSTRACT. Carlos Alberto Rivera García. University of Essex. Three studies assessed the relationship between need for closure (NFC; Kruglanski, Webster, & Klem, 1993) and evaluations of political ideology changes, as a function of mortality salience (MS). Based on terror management theory (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986) and previous research (e.g., Cozzolino, 2006; Jost et al., 2003), we hypothesized that abstract reminders of death would activate the facet of NFC that seeks group consensus and stability (as opposed to deviation and persuasion). Following an MS or control induction, 156 participants evaluated politicians who switched political ideologies (moved from the left to the right). In line with recent research (Fu et al., 2007), results indicate that MS induced people high in NFC to express greater support for politicians seeking consensus in the political centre, compared to politicians endorsing liberal or conservative ideologies, an effect consistent with research linking NFC to desires for group centrism and collective closure. A second study (N= 170) clarified this issue further with participants evaluating political parties (rather than individual politicians) depicted as moving from their traditional left/ right positions toward the political centre in one condition, or parties that remained true to their traditional ideologies in a second condition. Results revealed that participants high in NFC exposed to MS expressed significantly higher levels of support for parties moving from the extreme right to the centre, than for parties moving from the extreme left to the centre. A third study (N=276) explored how the activation of specific needs for cognitive closure via MS would result in an increased support for a centrist political party described as uniform in thought and enjoying an internal (vs. split) mandate for the party’s manifesto. The results further indicate that reminders of mortality amplify demands for consensus and clarity more than signalling a demand for ideological clarity. Results and implications are discussed.

1. Scarily Running Towards The
Centre: Political centrism
adherence as an effect of mortality
salience.
Carlos Rivera.
Supervisor: Dr. Philip J. Cozzolino.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 1

2. Background
• Motivated Social Cognition (Jost et al., 2003).
• Psychological tendencies underline ideological
differences between the political Right and Left.
• The adoption of conservative ideologies is a ‘matching
process’ to satisfy psychological needs.
• Psychological model of epistemic, ideological and
existential motivations.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 2

3. Background
Jost, et al.
(2003).
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 3

4. Background
Jost, et al.
(2003).
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 3

5. Background
Jost, et al.
(2003).
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 4

6. Background
• Terror management theory (TMT; Greenberg,
Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986).
• Humans share with animals a fundamental orientation
toward survival.
• Cultural worldviews are sets of beliefs about the
nature of reality.
• Provide meaning and the promise of symbolic
immortality.
• Serve as a shield against the anxiety of inevitable
death.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 5

7. Background
• TMT shows that cultural worldviews provide protection
against reminders of death.
• ‘Mortality Salience’ manipulation (MS) creates
worldview defence, protection, guides for action
1. Describe the emotions that the thought of
your own death arouses in you.
2. What do you think will happen to you as
you physically die and once you are
physically dead?
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 6

8. Background
• TMT & MS.
• Overwhelming fear of death must be managed.
• Generates defensive states with a focus on protecting
the symbolic self against threats.
• MS manipulation sets attention to external sources of
information.
External Validity?
• President Bush approval rating on
September 5, 2001:
• 51% (PollingReport.com, 2004).
• 13 of September, 2001: 86%
(Morin & Deane, 2001).
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 7

9. Background
• TMT & MS.
• President Bush image
served as protective shield
against death. (Landau, et al,
2004).
• Again, MS inflates regard for
people, concepts and
objects that represent own
culture.
• MS enhance appeal of
charismatic leader (Cohen,
et al, 2004).
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 8

10. Background
• Is Voting a Rational Choice?
TMT & MS.
• Participants in CN gave
higher ratings to John Kerry
over George Bush. (Landau,
et al, 2004).
• When reminded of their
mortality (MS) George
Bush’s evaluation increased. Landau, et al, (2004).
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 9

11. Background
Need for Closure
• Desire to have closure urgently and maintain it
permanently as compared to confusion and/or
ambiguity (Kruglanski, 2004, p. 6).
• Strong need for closure tend to “seize” on information
permitting a judgement on a topic of interest and to
“freeze” on such judgement, becoming relatively
impermeable or closed-minded to further relevant
information (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996).
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 10

12. Background
Need for Closure
• Refers to the way in which individuals approach and
reduce cognitive uncertainty (Golec & Federico, 2004).
• High NFCS’s:
• Favours homogeneous in-groups because their
shared beliefs provide firm, socially validated reality.
• May induce a general group centrism (De Grada et
al., 1999; Kruglanski, et al., 2002).
• Look to reach a clear consensus.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 11

13. Background
Need for Closure
• NFC means ‘black-and-white’ schema but...
• there are times when need for uniformity is high.
• Hypothesis.
• MS should interact with need for closure.
• Deviants from the political centre should not be
highly regarded by people high in NFC.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 12

14. Study 1
• 161 psychology students (UoE).
(female= 101, men= 58 (2 not reported); M = 21.92, SD = 5.21).
• Presented psychological inventories:
• Nationalism/Patriotism (UK version).
• Party Preference scale.
• Need for Closure.
• Social Dominance Orientation.
• Political Knowledge.
• Other psychological scales.
• Participants assigned to MS or control conditions.
• Read biographies of four politicians who switched political
ideologies.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 13

15. Study 1
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 14

16. Study 1
• Political Approval
• “I respect this politician.”
• “I do not think that this politician is worthy of esteem.” (R)
• “I do not have a high opinion of this
politician.” (R)
• “I think that this politician is in politics for the ‘right
reasons’.”
• Alphas:
• Politician 1 (Right > Left) (Out > Centre) .764
• Politician 2 (Right > Left) (Centre > Out) .767
• Politician 3 (Left > Right) (Centre > Out) .775
• Politician 4 (Left > Right) (Out > Centre) .802
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 15

17. Study 1
• Design
• 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 mixed ANOVA
•
Condition (MS/CN); Need for Closure (NFC) - Between
subjects.
• Movement (LR/RL) and Direction (Out-Centre/Centre-
out) - Within subjects.
• Expectation
• Direction of the politicians movement will mean more
for those in the MS condition and high in NFC.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 16

18. Study 1
• Primary hypothesis test
•
Need for Closure X Condition X Direction interaction.
•
Only higher-order significant interaction.
•
F(1, 152) = 5.80, p < .05
Out > Centre
5.00
MS
CN
Political Approval
4.75
4.50
4.25
4.00
Low NFC High NFC
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17

19. Study 1
• Primary hypothesis test
•
Need for Closure X Condition X Direction interaction.
•
Only higher-order significant interaction.
•
F(1, 152) = 5.80, p < .05
Out > Centre Centre > Out
5.00 5.00
MS MS
CN CN
Political Approval
Political Approval
4.75 4.75
4.50 4.50
4.25 4.25
4.00 4.00
Low NFC High NFC Low NFC High NFC
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17

20. Study 1
• Brief Discussion
• MS induce people high in NFC to seek comfort in social
groups.
• Psychological processes of social bonding in line with
Cozzolino (2006) dual-existential model.
• Group-centrism, is related to the needs to reduce
uncertainty and to dispel ambiguity.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 18

21. Study 2
• Study 1 looked at political support for individual
politicians.
• Study 2 is making holistic judgements, looking at
political parties.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19

22. A Little Quote
“Anywhere where the ruling elites, particularly the
Labour Party which was the, everything, for a
place like this years ago has abandoned the
working class, you got this enormous gulf
which is going to be filled by somebody
and where possible we make sure that
is filled by us”.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 20

23. A Little Quote
“Anywhere where the ruling elites, particularly the
Labour Party which was the, everything, for a
place like this years ago has abandoned the
working class, you got this enormous gulf
which is going to be filled by somebody
and where possible we make sure that
is filled by us”.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 20

24. A Little Quote
“Anywhere where the ruling elites, particularly the
Labour Party which was the, everything, for a
place like this years ago has abandoned the
working class, you got this enormous gulf
which is going to be filled by somebody
and where possible we make sure that
is filled by us”.
Nick Griffin.
Chairman of British National Party.
(BBC “Panorama” Interview, 2008)
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 20

25. Study 2
• Change of context (individual politicians to political
parties across the spectrum).
•
Moving from individual to social.
•
Also support for fringe, that now seem “less
extreme”.
•
Because traditional parties move to centre.
• Two conditions:
•
No party movement.
•
Parties move toward centre (gaps filled).
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21

26. Study 2
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 22

27. Study 2
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 23

28. Discussion
• Design
• 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 mixed ANOVA
•
Condition, Need for Closure, & Movement - Between
subjects
•
Support for left/right - Within subjects
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 24

29. Study 2
• 78 psychology students (UoE).
(female= 48, men= 30; M = 24.71, SD = 9.25).
• Presented psychological inventories:
• Nationalism/Patriotism (UK version).
• Party Preference scale.
• Need for Closure.
• Social Dominance Orientation.
• Political Knowledge.
• Other psychological scales.
• Participants assigned to MS or control conditions.
• Read alleged Political Science textbook.
• Ask to rate their support.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 25

30. Study 2
“New” Left Support “New” Right Support
5.0000 MS 5.0000 MS
Political Approval
Political Approval
CN CN
4.5203 4.5425
4.0405 4.0849
3.5608 3.6274
3.0810 3.1698
Low NFC High NFC Low NFC High NFC
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 26

31. Study 2
• Primary hypothesis test
• 4-way interaction, F(1, 70) = 3.49, p = .06
• Splitting sample on “movement” (no move or all move).
• No interactive effects in “no movement” condition, but
significant three-way between condition, NFC, and
support in the ‘all move’ condition (p < .05).
“New” Left Support “New” Right Support
5.0000 MS 5.0000 MS
Political Approval
Political Approval
CN CN
4.5203 4.5425
4.0405 4.0849
3.5608 3.6274
3.0810 3.1698
Low NFC High NFC Low NFC High NFC
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 26

32. Conclusions
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 27

33. Conclusions
• Existential and Epistemic motives interact to console
people when feeling intimidated.
• Threatening remainders seem to amplify demands for
consensus and clarity on for those high in need for closure.
• In a context of changing political positions, when
MORTALITY SALIENCE and NEED FOR CLOSURE are
combined not all “CENTRISM” is equal.
• Psychological appeal about the “NEW RIGHT” for high in
Need for Closure who have had been reminded about
their mortality.
• Political Psychology: Micro-level answers to Macro-level
issues issues.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 27

34. Thank you!
Any questions?
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 28