Body and Soul

Anti-Trump protester screams in agony as Trump was sworn in as President (source).

Ross Pomeroy writes for RealClear Science, August 27, 2022:

It may be one of the most surefire findings in all of social psychology, repeatedly replicated over almost five decades of study: American conservatives say they are much happier than American liberals. They also report greater meaning and purpose in their lives, and higher overall life satisfaction…. [T]he entire gap…equates to about a half-point on a four-point scale, a sizable happiness divide.

According to social scientists, here are four reasons why conservatives are happier than (il)liberals:

1. Marriage: Conservatives are more likely to be married, and marriage tends to make people happier.
2. Religious belief: Conservatives tend to be more religious, and religious people tend to be happier.
3. Belief in a meritocracy: Social psychologist Jaime Napier, Program Head of Psychology at NYU-Abu Dhabi has conducted research suggesting that views about inequality play a role. Conservatives are less concerned with equality of outcomes and more with equality of opportunity. While American liberals are depressed by inequalities in society, conservatives are okay with them provided that everyone has roughly the same opportunities to succeed. The latter is a more rosy and empowering view than the deterministic former. Napier told PBS:”One of the biggest correlates with happiness in our surveys was the belief of a meritocracy, which is the belief that anybody who works hard can make it. That was the biggest predictor of happiness. That was also one of the biggest predictors of political ideology. So, the conservatives were much higher on these meritocratic beliefs than liberals were.” 
4. Psychological health: In A Simple Theory of the Self, p. 79, psychiatrist David Mann, M.D., defined psychological health as the capacity “to confront oneself and others with the absolute minimum of subterfuge.” It turns out that by Mann’s and other measures, conservatives are psychologically healthier than (il)liberals:
   1. Two studies explored a more surprising contributor: neuroticism, typically defined as “a tendency toward anxiety, depression, self-doubt, and other negative feelings.” Surveyed conservatives consistently score lower in neuroticism than surveyed liberals.
   2. In 2011, psychologists at the University of Florida and the University of Toronto conducted four studies, aiming to find whether conservatives are more “positively adjusted” than liberals. They found that conservatives “expressed greater personal agency, more positive outlook, more transcendent moral beliefs, and a generalized belief in fairness” compared to liberals. They added: “The portrait of conservatives that emerges is different from the view that conservatives are generally fearful, low in self-esteem, and rationalize away social inequality. Conservatives are more satisfied with their lives, in general… report better mental health and fewer mental and emotional problems (all after controlling for age, sex, income, and education), and view social justice in ways that are consistent with binding moral foundations, such as by emphasizing personal agency and equity. Liberals have become less happy over the last several decades, but this decline is associated with increasingly secular attitudes and actions.”

Pomeroy concludes: “So if you need some cheering up, maybe turn to a conservative friend rather than a liberal one.”

~E