CLOSED MINDS AND OPEN BALLOTS: INVESTIGATING NEED FOR COGNITION, DOGMATISM AND EXTREMISM IN PAKISTANI VOTERS

Abstract

Few studies have focused on the psychological underpinnings of political behavior among Pakistani voters. This research aims to study the interrelationship between need for cognition, dogmatism and extremism as witnessed in the political ideologies of Pakistani voters. Utilizing data from a cross-sectional survey of 111 eligible Pakistani voters, recruited through purposive random sampling, this researched employed standardized psychometric measures, i.e. the Need for Cognition Scale (Cacioppo et al., 1984), Dogmatism Scale (Rokeach, 1956), and Extremism Scale (Bertelsen & Ozer, 2018), to examine the interplay between cognitive engagement and ideological rigidity, as they impact voters’ political dispositions. Results from correlational analysis uncovered a significant inverse relationship between the need for cognition and extremism, as well as positive association between dogmatism and extremism. Contrarily, no significant correlation was found between the need for cognition and dogmatism. Regression models showed that extremism attitudes significantly predict higher dogmatism, alongside lower need for cognition. MANOVA and ANOVA analyses did not reveal statistically significant effects of age, education, or political affiliation, but income predicted the need for cognition, albeit marginally. The findings of this study highlight the insidiously spreading ideological inflexibility in Pakistan, and the dangers they pose within the country’s existing polarized political context. A plethora of implications, notably for media reforms and general civic education, are discussed.