An early-emerging explanatory heuristic promotes support for the status quo

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Larisa J Hussak, Andrei Cimpian

Abstract

People often view their sociopolitical systems as fair and natural despite indisputable biases in their structure. Current theories of this phenomenon trace its roots to a motivation to alleviate anxiety and uncertainty. Here, we propose a complementary cognitive pathway for these system-endorsing attitudes. Specifically, we propose that the fundamental mechanisms through which people explain the world around them may also be a source of such attitudes. These explanatory processes are inadvertently biased to yield inherent or internal facts as explanations for a wide variety of social and natural phenomena, including sociopolitical patterns (e.g., Why are some people rich? Because they are really smart). In turn, this bias toward inherent attributions makes it seem that the observations being explained (such as the societal status quo) are legitimate and thus worthy of support. Four studies with participants as young as 4 years of age provided correlational and experimental evidence for the hypothesized link between explanatory processes and support for the status quo. These findings suggest that the tendency to endorse existing sociopolitical arrangements emerges partly on a foundation laid early in life by a basic component o...Continue Reading

Citations

Oct 18, 2016·Developmental Science·Angie M JohnstonFrank C Keil
Aug 4, 2016·Psychological Science·Christina M Tworek, Andrei Cimpian
Feb 24, 2017·Developmental Science·Marjorie RhodesAndrei Cimpian
Aug 26, 2017·Memory & Cognition·Larisa J Hussak, Andrei Cimpian
Sep 11, 2019·Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development·Meagan M PattersonAndrew Nelson
Nov 25, 2020·International Journal of Psychology : Journal International De Psychologie·Xuyun TanJianning Dang
Jan 20, 2021·Child Development·John CorbitKatherine McAuliffe
Jan 30, 2021·Perspectives on Psychological Science : a Journal of the Association for Psychological Science·Sébastien Goudeau, Andrei Cimpian
Oct 27, 2020·Annual Review of Developmental Psychology·Marjorie Rhodes, Andrew Baron
Jul 19, 2017·Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology·Laura Elenbaas, Melanie Killen
Mar 25, 2021·Current Directions in Psychological Science·Laura ElenbaasMelanie Killen
Jul 13, 2021·Journal of Experimental Child Psychology·Tara M MandalaywalaMarjorie Rhodes
Aug 24, 2021·Developmental Science·Xin YangYarrow Dunham

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