Conservatism and Defense Style

The dynamic theory of conservatism suggests that conservatism can be described as an ego-defensive behavior. Furthermore, the theory of defense style suggests that defensive behaviors are revealed in individuals' attitude structures. The present study was designed to examine the relationship between conservatism and defense style. Measures of conservatism, anal personality traits, and defense style were completed by 238 university students (103 men, 134 women, 1 unidentified). The measure of anal personality traits was included to replicate factors previously discovered with similar conservatism measures. A principal components analysis with oblimin rotation indicated that conservatism and anal personality traits loaded alongside mature defense style. The findings suggest that conservatism can be located within the theoretical model of defense style. However, it is suggested that the match between liberal attitudes and mature defense style be investigated in future research.