Why do conservatives report being happier than liberals? The contribution of neuroticism
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Burton, Caitlin M.
Plaks, Jason E.
Peterson, Jordan B.
Abstract / Description
Previous studies suggest that conservatives in the United States are happier than liberals. This difference has been attributed to factors including differences in socioeconomic status, group memberships, and system-justifying beliefs. We suggest that differences between liberals and conservatives in personality traits may provide an additional account for the "happiness gap". Specifically, we investigated the role of neuroticism (or conversely, emotional stability) in explaining the conservative-liberal happiness gap. In Study 1 (N = 619), we assessed the correlation between political orientation (PO) and satisfaction with life (SWL), controlling for the Big Five traits, religiosity, income, and demographic variables. Neuroticism, conscientiousness, and religiosity each accounted for the PO-SWL correlation. In Study 2 (N = 700), neuroticism, system justification beliefs, conscientiousness, and income each accounted for PO-SWL correlation. In both studies, neuroticism negatively correlated with conservatism. We suggest that individual differences in neuroticism represent a previously under-examined contributor to the SWL disparity between conservatives and liberals.
Keyword(s)
political orientation conservatism neuroticism satisfaction with life system justification beliefsPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2015-04-08
Journal title
Journal of Social and Political Psychology
Volume
3
Issue
1
Page numbers
89–102
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Burton, C. M., Plaks, J. E., & Peterson, J. B. (2015). Why do conservatives report being happier than liberals? The contribution of neuroticism. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 3(1), 89–102. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v3i1.117
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Burton, Caitlin M.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Plaks, Jason E.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Peterson, Jordan B.
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2018-11-26T12:44:45Z
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Made available on2018-11-26T12:44:45Z
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Date of first publication2015-04-08
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Abstract / DescriptionPrevious studies suggest that conservatives in the United States are happier than liberals. This difference has been attributed to factors including differences in socioeconomic status, group memberships, and system-justifying beliefs. We suggest that differences between liberals and conservatives in personality traits may provide an additional account for the "happiness gap". Specifically, we investigated the role of neuroticism (or conversely, emotional stability) in explaining the conservative-liberal happiness gap. In Study 1 (N = 619), we assessed the correlation between political orientation (PO) and satisfaction with life (SWL), controlling for the Big Five traits, religiosity, income, and demographic variables. Neuroticism, conscientiousness, and religiosity each accounted for the PO-SWL correlation. In Study 2 (N = 700), neuroticism, system justification beliefs, conscientiousness, and income each accounted for PO-SWL correlation. In both studies, neuroticism negatively correlated with conservatism. We suggest that individual differences in neuroticism represent a previously under-examined contributor to the SWL disparity between conservatives and liberals.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationBurton, C. M., Plaks, J. E., & Peterson, J. B. (2015). Why do conservatives report being happier than liberals? The contribution of neuroticism. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 3(1), 89–102. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v3i1.117en_US
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ISSN2195-3325
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1355
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1706
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v3i1.117
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Keyword(s)political orientationen_US
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Keyword(s)conservatismen_US
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Keyword(s)neuroticismen_US
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Keyword(s)satisfaction with lifeen_US
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Keyword(s)system justification beliefsen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleWhy do conservatives report being happier than liberals? The contribution of neuroticismen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue1
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Journal titleJournal of Social and Political Psychology
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Page numbers89–102
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Volume3
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Visible tag(s)Version of Record