If I live to be 100, I will never, ever understand the conservative mindset

[certainot]

17. well established that fear or need to avoid certainty more than liberals

there are other factors of course but authoritarianism is sometimes measured with the Uncertainty Avoidance Index or UAI

the sex on the wrong brain theory suggests authoritarianism is a heritable mostly 'old world' masturbation problem that basically makes the taliban, proud boys, nazis, trumpers - masturbation cults. on a simplistic level their need for certainty results from mixing impatient satisfaction-demanding impulses with parts of the brain involved in logic, problem solving, etc. thinking becomes foreplay and the brain just want to get it over with - with finality, certainty etc.

in the 'old world' civilizations humans have been selecting for higher sowb (authoritarianism as a survival advantage in times of conflict brought on by higher population densities, for instance) and to help humans simplify and judge the world in absolutes (black white, good bad) to help them reduce the fear and stress of the uncertainties represented by humans who are different. and that might be exacerbated if the 'other' is from 'new world' background where recent ancestors and cultures were more accepting of natural uncertainty, less fearful generally, etc

females generally have less sowb/fear of uncertainty so that may be why authoritarians, cons are so misogynistic....