Psychology Tells Us There Are 2 Kinds of Politically Correct People
The idea of political correctness is ubiquitous, lurking beneath virtually all of public conversation. Even people who strongly oppose it are just as aware, if not more so, of its presence and ever-changing boundaries. Still, the question that remains largely unanswered is: Who exactly
are the politically correct?
That’s the focus of a
recent study conducted by
Jordan Peterson and Christine Brophy of the University of Toronto’s Department of Psychology.
Peterson and Brophy created a 192-item survey that measured PC-related language, beliefs and emotional sensitivity. The survey was completed by 332 participants, who also responded to questionnaires that measured personality, IQ, and disgust sensitivity.
The researchers found a few common threads among the politically correct. People who agreed with the statement “It is important for me to be politically correct” were likely to be
non-White females who reported high levels of compassion. And, according to the survey, they were also likely to be particularly sensitive to offensive subject matter.
Beyond that, Peterson and Brophy suggest politically correct people fall into two main groups:
PC Authoritarianism and
PC Egalitarianism. Here’s how they distinguish the two, in part:
PC Egalitarians
- Believe cultural forces are responsible for group differences
- Think differences among groups arise from societal injustice
- Support policies and ideas that prop up historically disadvantaged groups
- Show high emotional response to discriminating language
- Have a higher vocabulary and openness to new experiences
- Are likely to identify with historically disadvantaged groups
- Desire a more diverse, democratic governance
PC Authoritarians
- Believe biological forces are responsible for group differences
- Demonstrate a lower vocabulary and more likely to be religious
- Express a general desire to achieve security for people in distress
- Show a higher need for order, and a higher sensitivity to disgust
- Are likely to report a mood or anxiety disorder in themselves or family
- Desire a more uniform society through autocratic governance
One of the most interesting things about the findings is the personality
overlap between PC Authoritarians and right-wing authoritarians. Scott Barry Kaufman, scientific director of the Imagination Institute and a researcher and lecturer in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania,
explains:
A common finding in the psychological literature is a positive association between
conservative belief and sensitivity to disgust. In the current study, contamination disgust and the order and traditionalism dimension were all related, suggesting a greater similarity between PC-Authoritarians and Right-Wing authoritarians than either side would probably like to admit!
Also, another interesting similarity is the higher levels of a diagnosed anxiety or mood disorder found among PC-Authoritarians. Both PC-Authoritarians and Right-Wing Authoritarians tend to show a heightened fear response to both social and personal threats, with the strongest fear response being towards
instances of social difference.
Authoritarianism on both sides of the political spectrum is commonly associated with an outlook that
perceives the world to be a threatening place. The researchers suggest this outlook might explain why PC Authoritarians feel a need to protect themselves and others from material they consider offensive. Peterson also thinks
high levels of compassion can lead to authoritarian stances.
Compassion is
widely understood to be an evolutionary adaptation that facilitates the mother-child bond. For instance, a mother bear feels compassion for her cubs because, for them, the outside world is full of threats from which she’s compelled to protect them. This type of compassion serves a clear purpose. But
what happens when people with high levels of compassion try to map this trait onto larger society, not just onto family members? Peterson elaborates on this idea in the video below:
Psychology Tells Us There Are 2 Kinds of Politically Correct People
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