Value correlates of conservatism

Stepwise multiple regression analyses that involved measures of value importance, age, sex, education, and income as the independent variables were conducted. It was hypothesized that conservative people would emphasize values concerned with attachment to rules and authority and ego defense (e.g., security, cleanliness, obedience) and downgrade values concerned with equality, freedom, love, and pleasure as well as open-minded, intellectual, and imaginative modes of thought. This hypothesis was confirmed by the results from 2 independent surveys involving families in metropolitan Adelaide, Australia, (Sample 1, 1972) and the families of students at a university (Sample 2, 1976-1977). Ss in both samples completed the Rokeach Value Survey and the Wilson-Patterson Conservation Scale and provided background and demographic information. In addition to the values, age, and sex were significant predictors, with older respondents tending to be more conservative than younger ones and females more conservative than males. Education and income of the heads (Sample 1) and fathers (Sample 2) of families played a minor role in prediction. Results support both the cognitive learning and psychodynamic explanations of value-attitude relationships. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).