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Antidemocratic Beliefs: A Survey and Some Explanations
Author(s) -
Zellman Gail L.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1975.tb00758.x
Subject(s) - dissent , civil liberties , socialization , value (mathematics) , civil rights , social psychology , public support , political science , psychology , cognition , law , law and economics , sociology , politics , public relations , computer science , machine learning , neuroscience
This paper presents descriptive and analytic data about tolerance for civil liberties and dissent in the American public. Support for free speech and dissent in concrete situations is more limited than support for abstract principles, a gap explained in terms of dynamics of threat, value conflict, and cognitive dissociation. The large gap suggests that the relationship between support for abstract principles and behavior in real situations would be very tenuous. Socialization of tolerance and support for civil liberties over the life cycle is discussed, and it is concluded that few attempts are made to socialize Americans to be true civil libertarians.