[ksdale]

I think your definition of conservative is correct, but it assumes the thing you’re trying to conserve is something like energy spent on new/different approaches. I think pg’s definition of conservative in this case assumes the thing being conserved is something like prestige or credibility.

As an aside, in my experience it’s a fairly common usage to describe any behavior that avoids risk along some dimension, which could very well mean going with the herd, if you’re trying to conserve social status.