Cited by 245Social and Intergroup PsychologyDeath Anxiety and Social ExclusionSocial Power and Status Dynamics

Not all ideologies are created equal: Epistemic, existential, and relational needs predict system-justifying attitudes

Hennes, Erin P., Nam, H. Hannah, Stern, Chadly, Jost, John T.·2012·Social Cognition

Abstract

Whereas most social psychological perspectives assume that needs to manage uncertainty, existential anxiety, and social cohesion should motivate any form of ideological zeal, System Justification Theory predicts that these needs are positively associated with the endorsement of system-justifying beliefs, opinions, and values but negatively associated with the endorsement of system-challenging ideological outcomes. For the first time we test a full theoretical model in which system justification mediates the effects of individual differences in epistemic, existential, and relational needs on attitudes toward public policy issues and social movements. Specifically, we conducted a national survey of 182 Americans and found that, as hypothesized, lower need for cognition, greater death anxiety, and a stronger desire to share reality each contributed significantly and independently to economic system justification, which, in turn, contributed to support for the Tea Party (a movement aimed at restoring America's “traditional values”) and opposition to Occupy Wall Street (a movement seeking to reduce social and economic inequality and minimize corporate influence on government). Economic system justification also mediated the effects of these needs on the endorsement of status quo positions with respect to health care, immigration, global climate change, and the “Ground Zero mosque.” These findings suggest that epistemic, existential, and relational needs lead disproportionately to support for system-justifying, rather than system-challenging, policies and movements.

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Crossref · 10.1521/soco.2012.30.6.669

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  • The driving psychological force underlying the rejection of science is system justification, that is, a person's need to perceive the current political and economic system as fair, legitimate, and stable.

    “On this view, the driving psychological force that is underlying the rejection of science is “system justification” [42], [43]; that is, a person's need to perceive the current political and economic system as fair, legitimate, and stable.”

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Authors
Hennes, E. P., Nam, H. H., Stern, C., & Jost, J. T.
Affiliations
New York University (US)
Venue
Social Cognition
Published
2012-12
Volume
30
Issue
6
Pages
669-688
ISSN
0278-016X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1964959883
Cited by
245
References
92
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 7
FWCI
28.39
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Social Cognition (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Power and Status Dynamics
Keywords
system justification, system justification theory, need for cognition, fear of death, Tea Party movement, Occupy Wall Street, social movements, public policy attitudes, individual differences

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