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John F. Settich Benedictine College; Atchison, KS at the Southern Political Science Assn

Discovering Dissonance in Undergraduates: Must They Reconcile Their Religious Conservatism and Social-Economic Liberalism?. John F. Settich Benedictine College; Atchison, KS at the Southern Political Science Assn In New Orleans, LA 6 January 2005.

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John F. Settich Benedictine College; Atchison, KS at the Southern Political Science Assn

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  1. Discovering Dissonance in Undergraduates: Must They Reconcile Their Religious Conservatism and Social-Economic Liberalism? John F. Settich Benedictine College; Atchison, KS at the Southern Political Science Assn In New Orleans, LA 6 January 2005

  2. Inquiry & Imagination: the Power of a child’s mind

  3. Discovery Learning at Benedictine College Inquiry-based, student-centered & collaborative

  4. “Supracurricular learning” • Most Discovery projects arise from classroom • Imagination and curiosity are essential • About 1/3rd of faculty do • 30 year history

  5. Discovery grants help • 30 projects, about $ 15,000 • Iowa caucuses Jan ’04 with 18 students & me • Funds for travel, supplies & fried chicken

  6. Discovery Skills Seminar • Goal: create & complete research project • Four PS majors • Professor as coach, guide, collaborator, disciplinarian and taskmaster

  7. The central questions: • Will students who hold conservative religious views also be political conservatives? • And, are conservatives more likely to vote?

  8. Ideologyin America Source: Center for Political Studies, Univ of Michigan, NES data 2000

  9. Jost defines conservatism “The core ideology of conservatism stresses resistance to change and justification of inequality and is motivated by needs that vary situationally and dispositionally to manage uncertainty and threat.”

  10. What did the Jost team find ? Psychological values predict political conservatism: • Unstable social systems • Death anxiety • Dogmatism / Dislike ambiguity • Need for order/structure

  11. Choosing our sample …. • Random, stratified sample drawn from all BC undergraduate students enrolled in Fall, 2003 • Sample represents the universe of 980 students. • N = 100 students

  12. Research methods • Data entry by respondents to contract website that delivered data in .xls format • Respondents given evening appointments on 3 nights in 1 week • Letters & personal invitation & incentive

  13. Survey design • Political Compass, web-based survey • Wilson-Patterson, standard survey for ideology, amended • BC Catholic Values Index: 16-question survey of our design, consulted with Religious Studies faculty

  14. Respondent characteristics • 55% males; • 45% females • 80% Catholic • 20 yrs = mean age • Democrats 23% • Republicans 48% • Indep/Other 29% Team met last fall with BC alum Dr. Joseph Barone to discuss research methods and goals.

  15. We could not measure • Effect of majors: too many in sample were undeclared (50%) • Political cynicism & optimism. • Political activism in many forms. • Effect of GPA on preferences. • Effects of race / ethnicity. • Knowledge of political events.

  16. Conservatism Scale by Wilson & Patterson • We adapted the C-scale for American cultural framework and abbreviated the survey. • Introduced in 1968, published in 1988 in British Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology. • Widely debated; widely used. • Uses only YES ? NO responses

  17. Hypothesis 1 Faith & politics “Benedictine College students with high scores on the BC Catholic Values Index are more politically conservative than students with lower BCCVI scores.”

  18. Hypothesis 1 Faith & politics “Benedictine College students with high scores on the BC Catholic Values Index are more politically conservative than students with lower BCCVI scores.” FINDING: Hypothesis AFFIRMED, weakly. Slightly more than half (52%) of the students with BCCVI scores above mean value => 36 points are politically conservative (as measured by the Political Compass). Only 42% of students with BCCVI scores below the mean were politically conservative on the same scale.

  19. BC Catholic values index • A Catholic may not vote for a candidate who favors legalized abortion. • The next Pope who follows Pope John Paul II should follow the strict moral and theological views His Holiness has set for all of us. • Binge drinking is not a serious problem among college students in America. Strongly agree Agree No Opinion Disagree Strongly Disagree ------- | --------------- | ----------- | ------------- | -------------- | ------------

  20. BC Catholic values index • A Catholic may not vote for a candidate who favors legalized abortion. Strongly agree Agree No Opinion Disagree Strongly Disagree ------- | --------------- | ----------- | ------------- | -------------- | ------------ 43 0 2 1 Conservative Liberal • All 16 questions were coded for ideal Conservative or Liberal values. • Higher scores = more Conservative • Lower scores = more Liberal

  21. BC Catholic values index Mean

  22. Regression on Wilson-Patterson --> REGRESS;Lhs=WPTL;Rhs=ONE,SEX,AGE,RELG,BCCVI,PARTY$ Ordinary least squares regression Weighting variable = none Dep. var. = WPTL Mean= 41.91000000 , S.D.= 7.045444119 Model size: Observations = 100, Parameters = 6, Deg.Fr.= 94 Residuals: Sum of squares= 2971.741959 , Std.Dev.= 5.62266 Fit: R-squared= .395273, Adjusted R-squared = .36311 Model test: F[ 5, 94] = 12.29, Prob value = .00000 Diagnostic: Log-L = -311.4805, Restricted(b=0) Log-L = -336.6295 LogAmemiyaPrCrt.= 3.512, Akaike Info. Crt.= 6.350 Autocorrel: Durbin-Watson Statistic = 1.96314, Rho = .01843 Variable | Coefficient | Standard Error |t-ratio |P[|T|>t] | Mean of X| Constant 39.79434580 7.9853090 4.983 .0000 SEX -.9485587023 1.1528748 -.823 .4127 1.4500000 AGE -.4742097367 .35168338 -1.348 .1808 19.850000 RELG -2.975829787 1.5914244 -1.870 .0646 .19000000 BCCVI .3684296984 .70586968E-01 5.220 .0000 35.530000 PART .3186790428 .72013451 .443 .6591 1.1900000

  23. Hypothesis 2 Ideology & voting “Benedictine College students who are politically conservative are no more likely to vote in national elections than students who are more liberal.”

  24. Hypothesis 2 Ideology & voting “Benedictine College students who are politically conservative are no more likely to vote in national elections than students who are more liberal.” • FINDING: Hypothesis AFFIRMED • Conservatives & Liberals (based on Political Compass politics score) voted in 2002 elections in essentially same percentage C=30%; L=28%. • Almost 1/3rd of Liberals were too young to vote in 2002; only 1/5th of Conservatives were too young.

  25. Hypothesis 2 Ideology & voting “Benedictine College students who are politically conservative are no more likely to vote in national elections than students who are more liberal.”

  26. The Political Compass • METAPHOR: A device to orient direction compared with a known standard (magnetic North) • MEANS: A web-based device to calculate ideology based on respondents’ economic and political views, based on standards

  27. -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 . . 3 2 … … .. ... 2 1 … …… …… ….. ... . .. 1 0 …. …. .…. .… . 0 -1 . .. …... .…..…. … .. . .. . -1 -2 . . . . -2 -3 . .. . -3 -4 . -4 -5 . . -5 -6 -6 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Authoritarian Q2 Q1 Political true North is an Authoritarian regime. Its opposite is a libertarian society without political rules . Libertarian Q4 Q3

  28. -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 . . 3 2 … … .. ... 2 1 … …… …… ….. ... . .. 1 0 …. …. .…. .… . 0 -1 . .. …... .…..…. … .. . .. . -1 -2 . . . . -2 -3 . .. . -3 -4 . -4 -5 . . -5 -6 -6 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Economic ideology is measured on the horizontal scale: Left is socialist; Right is contemporary conservatism Q2 Q1 Socialism Conservatism . Q4 Q3

  29. -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 . . 3 2 … … .. ... 2 1 … …… …… ….. ... . .. 1 0 …. …. .…. .… . 0 -1 . .. …... .…..…. … .. . .. . -1 -2 . . . . -2 -3 . .. . -3 -4 . -4 -5 . . -5 -6 -6 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Authoritarian Q2 Q1 Economics liberal & politics conservative Economics & politics conservative Socialism Conservatism Politics liberal & economics conservative Economics & politics liberal . Libertarian Q4 Q3

  30. -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 . . 3 2 … … .. ... 2 1 … …… …… ….. ... . .. 1 0 …. …. .…. .… . 0 -1 . .. …... .…..…. … .. . .. . -1 -2 . . . . -2 -3 . .. . -3 -4 . -4 -5 . . -5 -6 -6 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Authoritarian Q2 Q1 George W. Bush Pope John Paul II Socialism Conservatism . Milton Friedman Mahatma Gandhi Libertarian Q4 Q3

  31. Political Compass: Politics .. Conservative 46% Zero Liberal 54 %

  32. Political Compass: Economics .. Liberal 85% Conservative 15% Zero

  33. -6 -5 -4 -3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 .. 2 1 1 0 0 -1 -1 -2 -2 -3 -3 -4 -4 -5 -5 -6 -6 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Authoritarian Political Compass scores: 99 BC students Q2 Q1 Socialism Conservatism . Libertarian Q4 Q3

  34. -6 -5 -4 -3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 .. 2 1 1 0 0 -1 -1 -2 -2 -3 -3 -4 . -4 -5 -5 -6 -6 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Authoritarian Q2 Q1 Most (85%) are more liberal on economic issues Socialism Conservatism . Libertarian Q4 Q3

  35. -6 -5 -4 -3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 .. 2 1 1 0 0 -1 -1 -2 -2 -3 -3 -4 . -4 -5 -5 -6 -6 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Authoritarian Q2 Q1 Half (48%) are liberal on economic and political issues Socialism Conservatism . Libertarian Q4 Q3

  36. -6 -5 -4 -3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 .. 2 1 1 0 0 -1 -1 -2 -2 -3 -3 -4 . -4 -5 -5 -6 -6 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Authoritarian Q2 Q1 Socialism Conservatism A few (9%) hold conventional contemporary American Conservative views, though 48% of total sample describe themselves as Republicans . Libertarian Q4 Q3

  37. -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 . . 3 2 … … .. ... 2 1 … …… …… ….. ... . .. 1 0 …. …. .…. .… . 0 -1 . .. …... .…..…. … .. . .. . -1 -2 . . . . -2 -3 . .. . -3 -4 . -4 -5 . . -5 -6 -6 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Authoritarian Q2 Q1 Dem = 16% Rep = 60% Indp = 24% N = 37 Dem = 22% Rep = 67% Indp = 11% N = 9 Socialism Respondents by Political Party Conservatism Dem = 30% Rep = 35% Indp = 35% N = 48 Dem = 20% Rep = 60% Indp = 20% N = 5 . Libertarian Q4 Q3

  38. -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 . . 3 2 … … .. ... 2 1 … …… …… ….. ... . .. 1 0 …. …. .…. .… . 0 -1 . .. …... .…..…. … .. . .. . -1 -2 . . . . -2 -3 . .. . -3 -4 . -4 -5 . . -5 -6 -6 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Authoritarian Q2 Q1 Females = 41% Males = 59% N = 37 Females = 22% Males = 78% N = 9 Socialism Respondents by Gender Conservatism Females = 54% Males = 46% N = 48 Females = 20% Males = 80% N = 5 . Libertarian Q4 Q3

  39. -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 . . 3 2 … … .. ... 2 1 … …… …… ….. ... . .. 1 0 …. …. .…. .… . 0 -1 . .. …... .…..…. … .. . .. . -1 -2 . . . . -2 -3 . .. . -3 -4 . -4 -5 . . -5 -6 -6 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Authoritarian Q2 Q1 42.4 mean 7.3 St Dev 43.8 mean 6.7 St Dev Wilson-Patterson Raw Scores by Quadrant Socialism Conservatism 41.6 mean 7.1 St Dev 39.8 mean 5.3 St Dev . Libertarian Q4 Q3

  40. Future research ideas • Repeat with another BC sample • Repeat with same panel after 2004 election to see change, if any, over time, caused by campaign • Document political activism • Conduct qualitative interviews after computer-based sessions • Use same BCCVI to test its validity

  41. Summary • PROCESS: • Students did flounder without stronger background in field • Methodological shortcomings were relatively few • We had a great sample group • SUBSTANCE: • Respondents held widely distributed views on orthodoxy • We were unable to explain, with certainty, whether the dissonance troubled respondents

  42. Discovery Learning at Benedictine College Inquiry-based, student-centered & collaborative

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