Myth that the right wing is more open minded

1. The scientific picture: tests of “open‑minded thinking” favor no simple pro‑right conclusion

Experimental and survey research finds higher scores on measures of Right‑Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) are associated with a more closed‑minded cognitive style and less belief updating after error, i.e., lower willingness or ability to revise beliefs when confronted with corrective information ^[1]. Separate studies measuring “actively open‑minded thinking” (AOT) report that AOT correlates with liberal ideology and that AOT differences help explain why factual accuracy varies across partisan congenial claims — not that conservatives are inherently more open‑minded ^{[3] [2]}.

2. Trends and nuance: both sides can show closed‑mindedness

Scholars increasingly caution that closed‑mindedness is not unique to the right. Research summarized by University of Nevada, Reno scholars argues the association between political ideology and closed‑mindedness has shifted so “Left and Right have become more alike” in certain respects, suggesting polarization and epistemic rigidity can afflict both sides ^[4]. That complicates any blanket claim that one side is categorically more open‑minded.

3. Cultural adoption of “open” styles does not equal epistemic openness

Journalistic accounts document how right‑wing subcultures and countercultural movements have retooled aesthetics and rhetoric historically associated with the left — a form of cultural appropriation or counterculture — which can be mistaken for intellectual openness ^[5]. CT News Junkie’s commentary about figures like Nick Fuentes shows factions on the right can embrace previously marginal or extreme voices; that reflects shifting political strategy and cultural signaling more than measured open‑minded thinking ^[6].

4. Political violence, organization and information ecosystems matter separately from open‑mindedness

Reporting from outlets such as The New York Times and NPR frames contemporary right‑wing movements as deploying organized information tools (e.g., partisan chatbots) and, in some contexts, having ties to organized political violence; these phenomena affect how ideas spread and are received but do not straightforwardly measure “open‑mindedness” among adherents ^{[7] [8]}. In short: the distribution and forcefulness of messaging can give the impression of intellectual clarity or flexibility without reflecting willingness to revise beliefs.

5. Conceptual limits: “open‑mindedness” is contested and context‑dependent

Philosophical and educational scholarship warns that open‑mindedness is complex: it can be separated from intellectual humility, and in some contexts being open‑minded can be epistemically counterproductive if it increases exposure to falsehoods or manipulative environments ^{[9] [10]}. Classic work on the “open and closed mind” also notes historical measurement problems when researchers equated authoritarianism with right‑wing ideology, cautioning that instruments and contexts shape conclusions ^[11].

6. Takeaway for the myth: avoid sweeping generalizations, look to measures and motives

Available evidence indicates that established psychological measures more often tie closed‑minded cognitive styles to right‑wing authoritarianism and that actively open‑minded thinking correlates with liberal ideology ^{[1] [3] [2]}. But recent research and reporting also stress that closed‑mindedness is not exclusive to the right and that cultural tactics, organizational reach, and media ecosystems complicate simple inferences about which side is “more open‑minded” ^{[4] [7]}. Assertions that the right is broadly more open‑minded are not supported by the cited empirical literature and contemporary analysis in these sources.

Limitations: available sources do not provide a definitive, single‑study verdict covering every demographic or national context; instead, they offer multiple methods and interpretations that point away from the simple myth that the right is more open‑minded ^{[1] [3] [4]}.