It's hard to see yourself as others see you. The people who are best at it rely on empathy to put themselves in the shoes of someone else. I don't think anyone could argue (with a straight face) that conservatives are strong on empathy. In writing this, I have to remind myself that I'm talking to about the least empathic conservative I've ever met (and I don't need to visit WonderWall for a refresher).

You're right that all the traits measured are present in all people, but in different proportions, out of which a particular personality arises. You're reversing cause and effect when you say that all people who simply possess those traits are conservatives; rather, conservatives measure strongly in those traits.

Which of these traits are not strongly present in conservatives, Ed?

fear and agression--See WonderWall.

dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity, uncertainty avoidance--Are not conservatives proud of their "clarity" in seeing the world in strict black and white? Isn't there great comfort in absolute certainty that you're right?

need for cognitive closure--Similar to uncertainty avoidance, the need to have a final answer that's comfortingly black-and-white; abhorrence of mystery and not knowing.

personal need for structure, group-based dominance--A place for everyone, and everyone in his place (hierarchies are the natural result of inequality); obedience to authority, because those in power have demonstrated their superiority by being in power.

terror management--Sounds worse than it is; the authors define it as recognition of mortality.

system justification--A need to defend one's ideology and the system it creates as being the best possible. 90% of the conservative posts on CurrentEvents are about justifying the system advocated by conservatives.

I understand that having one's psyche dissected in an academic paper can be uncomfortable; I empathize. The clinical terms sound harsher when you're on the receiving end; in fact, I've known conservatives to portray most of those things as strengths and take pride in such things as intolerance of ambiguity.

Sorry, Ed, but I'm not about to deny such obvious truths because they make you uncomfortable.