"Theoretical and empirical considerations lead us to conclude that virtually all of the above motives originate in psychological attempts to '''manage uncertainty and fear'''<ref>John T. Jost, Arie W. Kruglanski, Jack Glaser and Frank J. Sulloway, Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition, Psychological Bulletin 2003, Vol. 129, No. 3, 339—375 (p. 351. left col middle)</ref>."These, in turn, are inherently related to the two core aspects of conservative thought mentioned earlier—resistance to change and the endorsement of inequality".Thus, epistemic needs affect the style and manner by which individuals seek to overcome uncertainty and the fear of the unknown<ref>Kruglanski, A. W. (1989). Lay episremics and human knowledge: Cognitive and motivational basis. New York: Plenum.</ref><ref>Rokeach, M. (1960). The open and closed mind. New York: BasicBooks. Rorty, R. (1989). Contingency, irony, and solidarity. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.</ref><ref>Sorrentino, R. M., & Runey, C. I. R. (2000). The uncertain mind: Individual differences in facing the unknown. Philadelphia: Psychology Press/Taylor & Francis</ref><ref>Wilson, 0. D. (lid.). (l973). The psychology of conservatism. London: Academic Press</ref>. Existential motives, too, involve a desire for certainty and security that is associated with resisting rather than fostering change, and is highly corolated for need for certenty<ref>Dechesne, M., Janssen, J., & van Knippenberg, A. (2000). Derogation and distancing as terror managementstrategies: The moderating role of need for closure and permeability of group boundaries. Journal ofPersonality and Social Psychology, 79, 923—932.</ref><ref>McGregor, I., Zanna, M. P., Holmes, 1. 0., & Spencer, S. J. (2001). Compensatory conviction in the face of personal uncertainty: Going to extremes and being oneself. Journal of Personalityand Social Psychology, 80, 472—488.</ref>.

Evidence for and against the hypotheses that political conservatism is significantly associated with:

* Cognitive needs

** threat arising from social and economic deprivation - high rise of nazi after 1929 economic crises. but Jost fail to observe that there is rise of extremism on both sides. There seems that there was also rise in Communism.

** threat to the stability ofthe social system: In time of crises there is growing need for strong leadership and conservatism.

==Further readings==