In the first study, the researchers asked 99 participants, nearly half with children, 19 questions to identify factors that influence acceptance of paternalistic policies. To the researchers’ surprise, parenting approach was the best predictor for paternalistic policy adoption, more so than political ideology, political party identity and other demographics.

“I was surprised how these results cut across political parties,” said Lindke, a PhD candidate at the Center for Social Innovation at the University of California, Riverside and first author on the study. “Each party crosses the paternalism line depending on the issue being asked.”

Lakoff’s model would suggest that if the parenting metaphor holds it should be causal for political attitude. In the second study, Oppenheimer and his team worked with 150 participants to identify a causal link between parenting style and policy approach. They manipulated the content in the same newspaper article (pro, con and neutral) to evaluate participants’ responses. The team could not confirm that parenting approach led to policy preference.

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