Lib/Con: Cleanliness Cues Activate Conservative Attitudes

... three interesting threads of recent psychological research:

• The notion that environmental cues can influence political attitudes. One recent study found people who cast ballots in a church were more likely to support an initiative endorsed by social conservatives.
• The deep symbolic nature of hand washing. Studies have found cleaning our hands helps us emotionally disconnect from past decisions, as well as increase feelings of moral superiority.
• The strong link between social conservatism and the concept of purity. Studies have found conservatives are more easily disgusted than liberals, and that people who feel disgust tend to judge the moral transgressions of others more harshly.

For more, see Cleanliness Cues Activate Conservative Attitudes by Tom Jacobs, April 4, 2011 at Miller-McCune.