Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Strong Right-Wing Views May Be Driven by a Fear of Disease

posted by mrpg on Thursday March 01 2018, @05:00AM   Printer-friendly
from the what-if-I-have-rhinitis dept.

Whoever writes:

A new study showed a link between strong right-wing views and fear of disease and increased concern about hygiene.

The study showed that people who are more offended by bad odors are more likely to support authoritarian leaders, such as Donald Trump.

In the past, disgust at bad odors was important for survival. The scientists suggested that the disgust at unfamiliar odors may be linked to a desire to keep apart from "culturally unfamiliar" groups.

[...] In the new study, 160 people were rated on their aversion to bodily odours on a scale to one five and their responses compared to their political views. It found that each point higher on the disgust scale was associated with feeling 7.5 points more positive towards authoritarian leaders.

[...] It showed that people who were more disgusted by smells were also more likely to vote for Donald Trump than those who were less sensitive.

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Strong Right-Wing Views May Be Driven by a Fear of Disease | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 176 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 01 2018, @03:09PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 01 2018, @03:09PM (#645787)

    https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201306/do-politics-matter-when-it-comes-loving-cats-or-dogs [psychologytoday.com]

    When it comes to emotional responses toward our pets there is a clear difference between dogs versus cats. While 52% of people say that they preferred dogs, only 21% chose cats (with the remaining 27% undecided). It is interesting to note that those people who classify themselves as liberals are more favorable to cats (27%) than their conservative compatriots (17%). Conversely the liberals, although still strongly favoring dogs over cats (49%) have a less pronounced bias than the conservatives where 57% prefer dogs.

    It does seem to support the idea that Ds like cats more than Rs. It doesn't address actual cat ownership as far as I saw, so you definitely can't make a real leap to toxoplasmosis, but there is definitely a hint there.

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +1  
       Interesting=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Total Score:   1  

  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday March 01 2018, @03:29PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 01 2018, @03:29PM (#645801) Homepage Journal

    Damn. That means I'm married to a liberal? Damn. My wife is the cat lady. Damn! Obviously, 30 years is enough! Time for a divorce! I can't have liberals living in my home!! </sarcasm>

    --
    Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.