Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Superheroes, Safety, And Social Policy: Induced Levels Of Physical Security May Produce Greater Liberal Policy Preferences, Jacob Berggren

Honors Theses

Preferences for conservative policies are thought to be, at least in part, the result of experiencing a more threatening world, and consequentially preferring to avoid, rather than approach, new information or situations (Hibbing, Alford & Smith, 2014; Jost, Federico, & Napier, 2013; Shook & Fazio 2009). In addition to explaining how policy attitudes may be formed, this recent research has helped to explain why attitudes may be more responsive to external influences (or manipulations) than previously thought, especially in regard to political attitudes such as ideology and partisanship. Therefore, as feelings of safety are increased, and feelings of threat are …