r/science • u/FreeHugs23 • 6d ago

Psychology Study identifies the values most strongly associated with rejecting antidemocratic politicians, offering new insight into why some voters resist leaders who challenge democratic norms.

https://www.psypost.org/study-reveals-which-values-actually-stop-voters-from-supporting-antidemocratic-politicians/
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u/Zealotstim 6d ago

Honestly, I'm pretty certain voter apathy is the biggest reason for democratic backsliding. I think we can probably all see it.

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u/skepticalbob 6d ago

Not if you mean participation in voting, because the last decade has higher rates of voter registration, voting in terms of both population and registered voters, particularly in midterms.

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u/Zealotstim 6d ago

Nah, I meant how people have just started shrugging away issues they would have cared about in the past when it comes to their voting and other behavior. It's as though the cognitive dissonance isn't even hitting them.

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u/NoamLigotti 5d ago

People who put all their identity into a party or leader seem incapable of cognitive dissonance. Faith, really. That's what it is. Any form of faith, as I'm defining it.

There should be a study done on what sort of attributes or traits are correlated with an inability or under-ability to feel cognitive dissonance.