The role of cognitive rigidity in political ideologies: theory, evidence, and future directions

A contentious debate in political psychology has centred on the role of cognitive rigidity in shaping individuals’ political ideologies and worldviews. Early theories in the 1950s posited that strict ideological doctrines may tend to attract individuals with dispositions towards mental rigidity. This question has persisted: Does psychological rigidity foster a tendency towards ideological extremism? This review evaluates the empirical landscape with respect to the rigidity-of-the-extreme and the rigidity-of-the-right hypotheses and offers conceptual and methodological recommendations for future research avenues. The evidence suggests that cognitive rigidity is linked to ideological extremism, partisanship, and dogmatism across political and non-political ideologies. Advances in the measurement of ideological extremity and cognitive rigidity will facilitate further elucidation regarding how exactly the two hypotheses may be reconciled and why they have been historically placed in a potentially false competition. This synthesis suggests that a scientifically rigorous understanding of the cognitive roots of ideological thinking may be essential for developing effective antidotes to intolerance and intergroup hostility.