Conservatives' more rigid thinking styles don't seem to make them likelier than liberals to toe the party line

Conservatives' more rigid thinking styles don't seem to make them likelier than liberals to toe the party line

Conservatives tend to report more rigid thinking styles than liberals, but that doesn't appear to make them more likely to follow their party's lead. Across dozens of issues, both groups shifted toward their party's stance about equally.

Conservatives describe themselves as more rigid thinkers than liberals, but across 4 studies of 4,800+ Americans they were mostly no more likely to back a policy just because their party did. One sample did show conservatives following party cues more, and highly authoritarian people did in another.