Cognitive skills and motivation to adapt to social change among Polish politicians

doi:10.1017/CBO9781139026482.007

5 - Cognitive skills and motivation to adapt to social change among Polish politicians

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 December 2011

Agnieszka Golec de Zavala

Edited by

Ashley Weinberg

Show author details

Ashley Weinberg: Affiliation:
University of Salford

Book contents

Get access

Summary

For decades researchers analysing people’s functioning in the domain of politics have been looking for an answer to the question whether members and supporters of different political opinions, ranging across the continuum from political left to right, also differ with respect to their cognitive complexity and the sophistication with which they approach political problems (e.g., Stone, 1980; Jost, Glaser, Kruglanski and Sulloway, 2003a, 2003b). In this chapter, it is argued that complexity of political judgement is shaped by individuals’ cognitive abilities (Rosenberg, 1989; Sidanius, 1988; Sidanius and Lau, 1989) and that epistemic motivation (Kruglanski and Webster, 1996) – the will to engage with knowledge – determines the extent to which available cognitive skills are used. When analysing differences in cognitive skills the question is posed whether politicians differ with respect to their cognitive potential and when looking at differences in epistemic motivation, it is considered whether politicians differ with respect to their cognitive performance. The latter is easier to change and shape than the former, but both have consequences for the effectiveness of democratic debate.

This chapter is based on findings from two studies examining the cognitive abilities and epistemic motivations of members of the political elite in Poland, a former communist country that underwent a dramatic systemic change in the 1990s. The socio-political context of a post-communist country offers the possibility of new insights into the nature of the relationship between cognitive functioning and political preference unavailable within the context of established Western democracies (see also Golec, 2002b; Kossowska and van Hiel, 2003; McFarland, Ageyev and Abalakina-Paap, 1992; Tetlock, 1983, 1984).

Type: Chapter
Information: The Psychology of Politicians , pp. 76 - 96

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139026482.007 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adorno, T.Frenkel-Brunswik, H.Levinson, D.Sanford, N. 1950 The Authoritarian PersonalityNew YorkHarper and Row PublishersGoogle Scholar

Altemeyer, R. 1996 The Authoritarian SpecterCambridge, Mass.Harvard University PressGoogle Scholar

Brainerd, C. J. 1978 Piaget’s Theory of IntelligenceEnglewood Cliffs, N.J.Prentice HallGoogle Scholar

Chirumbolo, A. 2002 The relationship between need for closure and political orientation: the mediating role of authoritarianismPersonality and Individual Differences 32 603CrossRef Google Scholar

Durrheim, K. 1997 Theoretical conundrum: the politics and science of theorizing authoritarian cognitionPolitical Psychology 8 625CrossRef Google Scholar

Eysenck, H. J. 1954 The Psychology of PoliticsLondonRoutledge and Kegan PaulGoogle Scholar

Fleishman, J. A. 1988 Attitude organization in the general public: evidence for a bidimensional structureSocial Forces 67 159CrossRef Google Scholar

Golec, A. 2001 Konserwatyzm polityczny a potrzeba poznawczego domknięcia w badaniach polskichStudia Psychologiczne 1 423Google Scholar

Golec, A. 2002 Cognitive skills as predictor of attitudes toward political conflict: a study of Polish politiciansPolitical Psychology 4 731CrossRef Google Scholar

Golec, A. 2002 Need for cognitive closure and political conservatism: studies on the nature of the relationshipPolish Psychological Bulletin 4 5Google Scholar

Golec de Zavala, A.van Bergh, A. 2007 Need for cognitive closure and conservative political beliefs: differential mediation by personal worldviewsPolitical Psychology 28 587CrossRef Google Scholar

Greenberg, J.Jonas, E. 2003 Psychological motives and political orientation – the Left, the Right, and the Rigid: comments on Jost et al. (2003)Psychological Bulletin 129 376CrossRef Google Scholar

Gruenfeld, D. H. 1995 Status ideology, and integrative ideology on the US Supreme Court: rethinking the politics of political decision makingJournal of Personality and Social Psychology 68 5CrossRef Google Scholar

Habermas, J. 1984 The Theory of Communicative Action, : Reason and the Rationalization of SocietyLondonHeinemannGoogle Scholar

Jasiewicz, K. 2008 The (not always sweet) uses of opportunism: post-communist political parties in PolandCommunist and Post Communist Studies 41 421CrossRef Google Scholar

Jost, J. T.Glaser, J.Kruglanski, A. W.Sulloway, F. 2003 Political conservatism as motivated social cognitionPsychological Bulletin 129 339CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Jost, J. T.Glaser, J.Kruglanski, A. W.Sulloway, F. 2003 Exceptions that prove the rule: using a theory of motivated social cognition to account for ideological incongruities and political anomaliesPsychological Bulletin 129 383CrossRef Google Scholar

Jost, J.Kruglanski, A.Simon, L 1999 Effects of epistemic motivation on conservatism, intolerance, and other system justifying attitudesThompson, L.Messick, D.Levine, M.Shared Cognition in Organizations: The Management of KnowledgeMahwah, N.J.ErlbaumGoogle Scholar

Kemmelmeier, M. 1997 Need for closure and political orientation among German university studentsJournal of Social Psychology 137 787CrossRef Google Scholar

Kohlberg, L. 1981 Essays on Moral Development, : The Philosophy of Moral DevelopmentSan FranciscoHarper and Row PublishersGoogle Scholar

Kohlberg, L. 1984 Essays on Moral Development, : The Psychology of Moral DevelopmentSan FranciscoHarper and Row PublishersGoogle Scholar

Kossowska, M.van Hiel, A. 2003 The relationship between need for closure and conservatism in Western and Eastern EuropePolitical Psychology 24 501CrossRef Google Scholar

Kruglanski, A. W.Webster, D. 1996 Motivated closing of the mind: ‘seizing’ and ‘freezingPsychological Review 103 263CrossRef Google Scholar

Lipset, S. 1960 Political Man: The Social Bases of PoliticsGarden City, N.Y.Doubleday.Google Scholar

McCrae, R. 1996 Social consequences of experiential opennessPsychological Bulletin 120 323CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

McFarland, S. G.Ageyev, V. S.Abalakina-Paap, M. A. 1992 Authoritarianism in the former Soviet UnionJournal of Personality and Social Psychology 63 1004CrossRef Google Scholar

Neuberg, S. L.Newsom, J. T. 1993 Personal need for structure: individual differences in the desire for simple structureJournal of Personality and Social Psychology 65 113CrossRef Google Scholar

Polkowska, A. 1993 The process of coordinating viewpoints in a debate of the Sejm commissionPolish Psychological Bulletin 24 135Google Scholar

Pruitt, D. G.Carnevale, P. 1982 The development of integrative agreementsDerlega, P.Grzelak, J.Cooperative and Helping Behavior: Theories and ResearchNew YorkAcademic PressGoogle Scholar

Reykowski, J. 1993 Resolving large-scale political conflict: The case of the round table negotiations in PolandWorchel, S.Simpson, J.Conflict Between People and Groups: Causes, Processes, and ResolutionsChicagoNelson-HallGoogle Scholar

Riemann, R.Grubich, C.Hempel, S.Mergl, S.Richter, M. 1993 Personality and attitudes towards current political topicsPersonality and Individual Differences 15 313CrossRef Google Scholar

Rokeach, M. 1960 The Open and the Closed MindNew YorkBasic BooksGoogle Scholar

Rosenberg, S. W. 1989 Reason, Ideology and PoliticsPrinceton University PressGoogle Scholar

Selman, R. 1980 The growth of interpersonal understandingDevelopmental and Clinical AnalysesNew YorkAcademic PressGoogle Scholar

Sidanius, J. 1988 Political sophistication and political deviance: a structural equation examination of context theoryJournal of Personality and Social Psychology 55 37CrossRef Google Scholar

Sidanius, J.Lau, R. R. 1989 Political sophistication and political deviance: a matter of contextPolitical Psychology 10 85CrossRef Google Scholar

Stone, W. F. 1980 The myth of left-wing authoritarianismPolitical Psychology 2 3CrossRef Google Scholar

Tetlock, P. E. 1981 Pre- to post-election shifts in presidential rhetoric: impression management or cognitive adjustment?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 41 207CrossRef Google Scholar

Tetlock, P. E. 1983 Cognitive style and political ideologyJournal of Personality and Social Psychology 45 118CrossRef Google Scholar

Tetlock, P. E. 1984 Cognitive style and political ideology in the British House of CommonsJournal of Personality and Social Psychology 46 365CrossRef Google Scholar

Tetlock, P. E. 1986 Integrative complexity of policy reasoningPerloff, S.Kraus, S.Mass Media and PoliticsBeverly HillsSage.Google Scholar

Tetlock, P. E. 1986 A value pluralism model of ideological reasoningJournal of Personality and Social Psychology 50 819CrossRef Google Scholar

Van Hiel, A.Mervielde, I. 1996 Personality and current political beliefsPsychologica Belgica 36 221Google Scholar

Webster, D. M.Kruglanski, A. W. 1994 Individual differences in need for cognitive closureJournal of Personality and Social Psychology 67 1049CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Book contents

5 - Cognitive skills and motivation to adapt to social change among Polish politicians

Summary

Access options

References

Save book to Kindle

Save book to Dropbox

Save book to Google Drive