Work

The Relative Importance of Self‐Focused and Society‐Focused Values in Explaining Political Attitudes in Europe

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: Personal values predict political attitudes. Previous research in the United States suggests that so‐called “society‐focused” personal values such as universalism or conservation do so more than “self‐focused” values such as self‐direction and power. This study seeks to test the relevance of this distinction in a different context with four political attitudes using the European Social Survey. Three mechanisms are suggested to explain effects of self‐focused values on political attitudes. Although society‐focused values were generally found to be more important in predicting political attitudes, self‐focused values made a significant and often substantial contribution. On average, self‐focused values were able to predict around half of the variance in political attitudes that society‐focused values were. Power in particular played a role in predicting political attitudes, especially support for economic redistribution. Further analyses support the ideas that (1) even the most self‐focused value (i.e., hedonism) can play a relevant role in predicting political attitudes, and (2) self‐interest may play a role in explaining the effect of self‐focused values on political attitudes. Together, these findings highlight that a priori excluding self‐focused values from analyses of political attitudes—as studies have done in the past—may lead to important effects being overlooked.

Source: Political Psychology

DOI: 10.1111/pops.12856

Author: Saamah Abdallah

Institution: University of Erfurt

Language: English

Topic: Cultural Differences and Values

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,750

Funder: Universität Erfurt