It is generally agreed upon in the literature that the core tenets of conservatism are fear of change and anti-egalitarianism. According to Napier et al., in Political Ideology:
Its Structure, Functions, and Elective Affinities, these psychological preferences translate into policy in terms of maintaining the status quo and the tolerance of inequality due to a perception of a hierarchically configured society (309-311). These two fundamental tenets of conservatism can also be described relative to other forms of political ideological systems such as liberalism, wherein they would entail the opposite: embrace of social change and pro-egalitarianism. Relating these principles to liberalism helps one see their correlation, albeit imperfect. Liberals advocate for social change in order to beget a more egalitarian society in the same way that conservatives are opposed to change in order to preserve the hierarchical structure of society; therefore, as Jost et al. point out, "to preserve the status quo has typically entailed entrusting the present and future to the same authorities who have controlled the past" (343). .
Furthermore, stemming from these two core tenets of conservatism are what Jost et al. call more "peripheral" aspects of which include the desire for order and stability, adherence to pre-existing social norms or tradition, idealization of authority figures, punishment of deviants to name a few. In many ways, these peripheral components of conservatism are the means to the end of reaching the more fundamental tenets. Jost et al. hypothesize that these right-wing ideological and political attitudes (independent variables) are linked to specific psychological motives and processes that run the gamut between epistemic and existential concerns (dependent variables). .
In their comprehensive study of past data from representative samples from a wide range of Western countries, Jost et al.
