Why do more educated people tend toward centrism?

[RFayette]

As TJ and others pointed out, voting for the more centrist candidate does not necessarily equal being more centrist.  African American Democrats are consistently more pro-redistribution in polling data than white Democrats but were far less likely to support Sanders, the more economically leftist candidate.   This is becausee people don't vote solely on issues - they also vote based on personalities and their sense of identity - for many cosmopolitan liberals, supporting people like Obama and Hillary was simply what they are accustomed to, because they see the Democratic Party establishment as friendly to them.