How political leanings affect happiness
Different aspects of "the good life" are associated with both conservatism and liberalism.
Psychologists have long found that conservatism is linked to happiness and meaning in life, but a new study reveals that liberalism is associated with its own mental upside: psychologically rich and interesting lives.
“No one was looking at a third dimension of a good life. A life full of a variety of enriching, perspective-changing experiences,” said Erin Westgate, Ph.D., a University of Florida professor of psychology and co-author of the new study. “Yes you want your life to be happy and meaningful. But you want it to be interesting as well.”
By surveying thousands of people across the U.S. and South Korea, Westgate and her collaborators at other institutions replicated the established link between conservatism and both meaning and happiness. But they found for the first time that a psychologically rich life is more associated with liberal traits.
The surveys focused on ideology, not partisanship. Although the questionnaires asked people to rate their conservatism or liberalism, they did not ask about voting preferences or alignment with political parties.
Happiness is associated with lots of positive feelings and good days. Meaning stems from feeling like you have made a difference and contributed to your community. The third dimension, psychological richness – which Westgate and her co-authors defined in earlier research – is associated with new experiences and learning.
All three factors of “the good life” are correlated with one another. A happy person is more likely to lead a meaningful, psychologically rich life and vice versa. But by analyzing six different surveys within their single study, Westgate and her co-authors were able to uncover the underlying associations between political ideology and the three factors of a life well lived.
Westgate collaborated on the study with psychologists at the University of Chicago, Rutgers University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Kyung Hee University in South Korea. They published their findings July 5 in the Journal of Personality.