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policy sentiment, support for the death penalty, and laissez-faire economic attitudes? Most
accounts would chalk up such apparent growth in ideological constraint to elite opinion
leadership and partisan learning (see Layman 2001, Layman and Carsey, 2002, Zaller 1992).
Indeed, although much has been made of the decline in partisanship in American politics (e.g.
Wattenberg 1991), it now appears that partisanship has been intensifying for at least ten years,
and is now at even higher levels than it was in the 1950s (e.g. Bartels 2000). Furthermore,
experimental research has shown party ID to be an incredibly powerful heuristic, which is used
by nearly everyone (Lau and Redlawsk 2001) -- even those who claim political independence
(Rahn 1993). Surely, then, partisan learning must have something to do with ideological
constraint among the mass public.
But is that all there is to it? Why would party activists line-up along these lines in the first
place? Is it purely a historical function of coalition-building and interest group pandering that
evolves over time, or is there some natural ideological affinity among the seemingly disparate
political values mentioned above? Perhaps the more fundamental question involves the etiology
of core political values, a crucial element of political socialization that has not been addressed in
the literature. Can we identify some exogenous, perhaps apolitical predisposition that can explain
allegiance to particular combinations of political values -- and therefore shape a particular
political ideology? The remainder of this paper will explore this possibility, by explicating and
empirically evaluating a fascinating but previously untested theory by cognitive linguist George
Lakoff (2002). We reiterate that our primary purpose is not to explain the etiology of the culture
war as such – that has been done elsewhere. Rather, we are most interested in understanding the
etiology of ideological constraint, across economic, social welfare, cultural and foreign policy
dimensions.
The “Nation as Family” Heuristic, Parental-Style, and Value Priorities
I asked Paul if he could think of a single question, the answer to which would be the
best indicator of liberal vs. conservative political attitudes. His response: ‘If your
baby cries at night, do you pick him up?’ (Lakoff 2002).
Convention