Work

Conservatives Report Greater Meaning in Life Than Liberals

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: Conservatives report greater life satisfaction than liberals, but this relationship is relatively weak. To date, the evidence is limited to a narrow set of well-being measures that ask participants for a single assessment of their life in general. We address this shortcoming by examining the relationship between political orientation and well-being using measures of life satisfaction, affect, and meaning and purpose in life. Participants completed well-being measures after reflecting on their whole life (Studies 1a, 1b, and 2), at the end of their day (Study 3), and in the present moment (Study 4). Across five studies, conservatives reported more meaning and purpose in life than liberals at each reporting period. This finding remained significant after adjusting for religiosity and was usually stronger than the relationships involving other well-being measures. Finally, meaning in life was more closely related to social conservatism than economic conservatism.

Source: Social Psychological and Personality Science

DOI: 10.1177/1948550618768241

Authors: David B. Newman, Norbert Schwarz, Jesse Graham, Arthur A. Stone

Institutions: University of Southern California, University of Utah

Language: English

Topic: Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Princeton University, National Institute on Aging

Award: Princeton Center for Translational Research on Aging