Rational Constraint in Mass Belief Systems
The Role of Developmental Moral Stages in the Structure of Political Beliefs
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6336353 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joseph Wagner (0000-0003-3021-941X, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1990 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 147 |
| Publication date | 1990-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Political Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0162-895X • E-ISSN: 1467-9221 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/3791518 |
| OpenAlex | W2329772801 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 27 |
about the consistency, coherence, and political intelligence of the American public. This paper argues that such results too often reflect the limited ways in which researchers attempt to identify the structure of constrained belief. It adapts Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of cognitive moral development to explore an alternative measure of constraint in mass belief systems and shows that Melvin Kohn's questions about childrearing values yield a theoretically plausible, empirically reliable measure of developmental stages. This measure exhibits both internal and external validity and demonstrates marked stability over time. It also yields provocative empirical findings which suggest the need for an expanded notion of rational constraint. This study supports the claim that failure to identify a cognitive structure in mass belief systems owes more to limited conceptualization by researchers than to empirically identified limitations of citizens
Belief system · Constraint (computer-aided design · Developmental psychology · Epistemology · Moral development · Political science · Politics · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Religion and Society Interactions · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology
Rationality and relativism
Communism, conformity, and civil liberties
Political tolerance and American democracy
A Longitudinal Study of Moral Judgment
Prejudice, discrimination, and racism
Political Philosophy and the Idea of a Social Science
On the Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme
Moral Development Research
Continuities and Discontinuities in Childhood and Adult Moral Development
Reason and Morality
Bridging moral cognition and moral action
The development of moral thought
Dimensions of Tolerance
Developing Senses of Law and Legal Justice
Antidemocratic Beliefs
Racial Issues and The Structure of Mass Belief Systems
Fundamental Principles of Democracy
The Structure of Political Thinking
How People Organize the Political World
The History of Political Science
Moral reasoning of young adults
Social Class and Parental Values for Children
Consensus and Ideology in American Politics
The Factor Analysis of Ipsative Measures
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,14 |
| Citation span | 1998 - 2019 (22) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |