When I first mention this to most people, they really don’t get it, so here is a simple formula for keeping your moods upbeat….

You see, I used to believe what I had been taught about Republicans being tough and not backing down in international affairs and that the Democrats were cowardly. Imagine my shock when I finally found out that most of the high-ranking Repubs and their talking heads (e.g. Limbaugh, Hannity, O’Reilly, Beck, Savage, etc…) never served in the military and many of the Dems that they considered cowardly actually had served. It was also a big shock to find out that most of said talking heads were early college drop-outs who had no idea what the hell they were talking about on AM radio and in their books. I was a bit surprised also to find out that the “evil” Democrats weren’t godless, quite a few were actually religious, they just don’t play that card.

I was a lot happier back then when I had blind faith in the Republicans. That all changed the moment I took my head out of the send (or wherever else I had it buried for all of those years).

You see, I used to believe what I had been taught about Republicans being tough and not backing down in international affairs and that the Democrats were cowardly. Imagine my shock when I finally found out that most of the high-ranking Repubs and their talking heads (e.g. Limbaugh, Hannity, O’Reilly, Beck, Savage, etc…) never served in the military and many of the Dems that they considered cowardly actually had served. It was also a big shock to find out that most of said talking heads were early college drop-outs who had no idea what the hell they were talking about on AM radio and in their books. I was a bit surprised also to find out that the “evil” Democrats weren’t godless, quite a few were actually religious, they just don’t play that card.

I was a lot happier back then when I had blind faith in the Republicans. That all changed the moment I took my head out of the send (or wherever else I had it buried for all of those years).

Interesting that it seems to happen even when one corrects for ideology, though I wonder exactly the methodology.

But if you believed that such unfairness can be redressed through human effort, why would you be unhappy?

Because the unfairness is still there, and that must be someone’s fault, perhaps even the fault of a shadowy evil conspiracy. There are exceptions, certainly, “Happy Warriors” like Hubert Humphrey, and dour pessimists, but it seems like in generall the idea that any blemish is the result of preventable human fault or mistake rather than the natural, expected state of a fallen imperfect world tends to make people less happy.

Republicans report greater satisfaction with their sex lives, too. Why? The most likely explanation is that Republicans skew male, and men are more likely to say they enjoy their sex lives.

I’ve seen several surveys showing that Republican women

Interesting that it seems to happen even when one corrects for ideology, though I wonder exactly the methodology.

But if you believed that such unfairness can be redressed through human effort, why would you be unhappy?

Because the unfairness is still there, and that must be someone’s fault, perhaps even the fault of a shadowy evil conspiracy. There are exceptions, certainly, “Happy Warriors” like Hubert Humphrey, and dour pessimists, but it seems like in generall the idea that any blemish is the result of preventable human fault or mistake rather than the natural, expected state of a fallen imperfect world tends to make people less happy.

Republicans report greater satisfaction with their sex lives, too. Why? The most likely explanation is that Republicans skew male, and men are more likely to say they enjoy their sex lives.

I’ve seen several surveys showing that Republican women

Re: the bias among academics study — I’d like to have the authors’ side of the story before coming to my own conclusions regarding your allegations. But, be that as it may, my point wasn’t personal — it related to the more general point that ideology so permeates the social “sciences” in general (the reason for the scare quotes) that studies or “findings” which flatter their political predilections deserve, and usually receive, special skepticism, among all but the most biased or credulous.

Re: the bias among academics study — I’d like to have the authors’ side of the story before coming to my own conclusions regarding your allegations. But, be that as it may, my point wasn’t personal — it related to the more general point that ideology so permeates the social “sciences” in general (the reason for the scare quotes) that studies or “findings” which flatter their political predilections deserve, and usually receive, special skepticism, among all but the most biased or credulous.

Second, you’re right about the study you cited. In my notes, I had all of those correlations as positive. My notes were clearly wrong. Sorry about that.

Second, you’re right about the study you cited. In my notes, I had all of those correlations as positive. My notes were clearly wrong. Sorry about that.

You know, it’s just my experience, but I’ve noticed that there’s almost always a methodological flaw in studies that discomfort one’s ideological prefererences — a surprising yet consoling correlation. That observation could and should be tested, of course, but, as in other observations, I wouldn’t be surprised to find it confirmed.

Thanks for the citation, though. I took a quick look at it and … well, I really think you need to read more carefully. The traits you listed all correlate highly with SWB alright — but both positively and negatively. In fact, “repressive-defensiveness” is one of the traits most negatively correlated with SWB (-.32) (along with “rebellious-distrustful” at -.35). On the other hand, traits associated with “openness to experience”, such as “self-confidence” (.38) and “self-respect” (.31) were among the most positively correlated. Combining the two studies, I’d say that the hypothesis that the contemporary left attracts a significantly higher percentage of the neurotically unhappy than the right is strengthened. As is the observation that psychologists tend to find (read) what they’re ideologically inclined to find.

You know, it’s just my experience, but I’ve noticed that there’s almost always a methodological flaw in studies that discomfort one’s ideological prefererences — a surprising yet consoling correlation. That observation could and should be tested, of course, but, as in other observations, I wouldn’t be surprised to find it confirmed.

Thanks for the citation, though. I took a quick look at it and … well, I really think you need to read more carefully. The traits you listed all correlate highly with SWB alright — but both positively and negatively. In fact, “repressive-defensiveness” is one of the traits most negatively correlated with SWB (-.32) (along with “rebellious-distrustful” at -.35). On the other hand, traits associated with “openness to experience”, such as “self-confidence” (.38) and “self-respect” (.31) were among the most positively correlated. Combining the two studies, I’d say that the hypothesis that the contemporary left attracts a significantly higher percentage of the neurotically unhappy than the right is strengthened. As is the observation that psychologists tend to find (read) what they’re ideologically inclined to find.

For example a meta-analysis conducted a few years ago correlated subjective well-being with 137 different personality traits, and found that the traits most positively associated with positive affect and happiness were:
repressive-defensiveness
trust
emotional stability (duh!)
locus of control-chance
desire for control
hardiness
positive affectivity (duh again)
private collective self-esteem
and tension

Repressive-defensiveness, desire for control, and trust just happen to be traits associated with lower tolerance for ambiguity and dogmaticism, two of the traits associated with conservativism in the papers I linked before.

Oh, the citation is:
DeNeve, K.M., & Cooper, H. (1998). The happy personality: a meta-analysis of 137 personality traits and subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 197-229.

For example a meta-analysis conducted a few years ago correlated subjective well-being with 137 different personality traits, and found that the traits most positively associated with positive affect and happiness were:
repressive-defensiveness
trust
emotional stability (duh!)
locus of control-chance
desire for control
hardiness
positive affectivity (duh again)
private collective self-esteem
and tension

Repressive-defensiveness, desire for control, and trust just happen to be traits associated with lower tolerance for ambiguity and dogmaticism, two of the traits associated with conservativism in the papers I linked before.

Oh, the citation is:
DeNeve, K.M., & Cooper, H. (1998). The happy personality: a meta-analysis of 137 personality traits and subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 197-229.