Why Do Conservatives Tend to Be Happier?

When I was in college back in the 60s some of my profs, who were men of the left, repeatedly insinuated that to be a conservative was to be mean-spirited, ungenerous, bigoted and miserable. In the years since a number of sociologists decided to test this intuition, and to the surprise of many, perhaps, it turned out to be baseless.

In fact, the opposite is true. The misery, studies show, is largely on the left.

An article by Ross Pomeroy at Real Clear Science gives us the details:

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.

So, why is this? How do social scientists explain it?

There are a couple clear contributors to point out first. Marriage tends to make people happier, and conservatives are more likely to be married. Religious belief is also linked to happiness, and conservatives tend to be more religious.

Social psychologist Jaime Napier, Program Head of Psychology at NYU-Abu Dhabi has conducted research suggesting that views about inequality play a role.

"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," she told PBS.

"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."

To paraphrase, 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.

But there's more:

Two other 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.

As a friend of mine pointed out, conservatives are not nearly as neurotic about a climate apocalypse or "masking" as are liberals. Nor do they think that Donald Trump, with all his manifold flaws, is the antichrist.

Pomeroy continues:

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.

Anecdotally, I've also found that conservatives are much more likely to indulge in self-deprecating humor than are liberals. I've known very few liberals who could laugh at their own personal foibles or who would get angry if it were suggested that they had any.

In fact, for not a few, their laughter was usually derisive and directed at others with whom they felt contempt.

It might be added here that contempt for others is unfortunately a common human trait, but it seems, in my experience, at least, to be particularly so among those on the left.

In 2014 then Democratic governor of New York, Mario Cuomo told conservative Republicans – specifically anyone who is pro-traditional marriage, pro-life or pro-guns – they “have no place in the state of New York".

In 2016 Democrat candidate for president Hillary Clinton famously called Donald Trump supporters "deplorables."

The current governor of New York, Democrat Kathy Hochul, recently encouraged Republicans to “Just jump on a bus and head down to Florida where you belong, OK?” she said. “You are not New Yorkers," and Florida gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist implied that those who support his opponent Ron DeSantis are haters and that he didn't want their vote.

It's not hard to imagine Donald Trump talking about his political opponents like this, but then that's why so many consider Trump and the words he employs to be despicable. It's no less despicable when it comes from the left.