Political ideology and belief change in the face of counterevidence

Abstract

AbstractThis paper investigates the role of political ideology with regard to changes in beliefs on political and non‐political issues. In line with the political asymmetry hypothesis and threat sensitivity accounts in relation to ideology, it was assumed that right‐wing adherents would change their prior beliefs (on political and non‐political issues) to a lesser extent in response to counterevidence than left‐wing adherents. We also expected that the mechanism responsible for this effect would be accounted for by individual differences in threat sensitivity. To test these hypotheses, we conducted two experimental studies (total N = 576) in which participants holding right‐ and left‐wing views were exposed to new information, inconsistent with their prior beliefs, on political and non‐political issues. Contrary to expectations, we found that individuals with right‐ and left‐wing beliefs did not differ in the degree of change to their prior beliefs in response to counterevidence. Nor did we find evidence indicating that threat sensitivity was responsible for the link between ideology and belief change. The paper's findings contribute to the ongoing discussion around ideological (a)symmetry and the controversies concerning threat‐related ideological differences.