napier jost why are conservatives happier

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tionalizing inequali tyfor exampl e, by see ing it as emerging

from a fair, legitimate, andmeritocratic systemserves a pall iative

function not only in the UnitedStates, but innine other countries as

well . That is, right-wingers report greater happiness and satisfac-

tion than left-wingers around the world, and most espec ially in

countries where the overall quality of li fe is relatively low. The

endorsement of meritocratic beliefs is also associated with sub-

jective well-being in these countries. Furthermore, meritocratic

beliefs account for the association between poli tica l orientationand subjective well-being to a significant degree. In Study 3, we

used data from the General Social Survey and the U.S. Census to

test the hypothesis that as economic inequali ty in society has in-

creased in recent dec ades, self-reported happiness has decreased,

espec ially among liberals. We expected that conservatives ideo-

logica l beli efs have provided an emotional buffer against the

negative hedonic consequences of inequali ty in society.

T A B L E 2

U nstandardized Coefficients From Linea r Regr ession Analyses of Subjec ti ve Well-Being in the

World Values Survey: United Stat es

Predictor Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

Constant 0.78 (0.01)nn n 0.70 (0.02)nn n 0.68 (0.02)nn n 0.64 (0.02)nn n

Right-wing orientation 0.07 (0.02)nn n 0.06 (0.02)n 0.05 (0.02)n 0.04 (0.02)+

Incom

e 0.

05 (0.

02)nn n

0.

05 (0.

02)nn n

0.

05 (0.

01)nn n

Educa tion 0.02 (0.01) 0.02 (0.01) 0.01 (0.01)

Sex 0.00 (0.01) 0.00 (0.01) 0.00 (0.01)

Age 0.00 (0.02) 0.01 (0.02) 0.01 (0.02)Age squared 0.04 (0.01)nn n 0.04 (0.01)nn n 0.04 (0.01)nn n

Mari tal status 0.08 (0.01)nn n 0.08 (0.01)nn n 0.07 (0.01)nn n

Employment status 0.05 (0.02)n 0.04 (0.02)n 0.04 (0.02)+Church attendance 0.04 (0.02)n 0.03 (0.02)n

Meri tocratic beli efs 0.07 (0.02)nn n

Note. Robust standard errors ar e giv en in par enth eses. T h is analysis is based on a sample siz e of 1,176.+p < .10. np < .05. nnnp < .001.

T A B L E 3

U nstandardized Coefficients F rom Multilevel Linea r Regr ession Analyses of Subjec ti ve Well-Being in the

World Values Surv ey: 10 Countries

Predictor Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4

Nation-level variables

Intercept 0.66 (0.01)nn n 0.66 (0.01)nn n 0.66 (0.01)nn n 0.66 (0.01)nn n

Unemployment 0.01 (0.00)n 0.01 (0.00)n 0.01 (0.00)n 0.01 (0.00)nInflation 0.00 (0.00) 0.00 (0.00) 0.00 (0.00) 0.00 (0.00)+Gross domestic product 0.04 (0.04) 0.04 (0.03) 0.04 (0.04) 0.05 (0.03)HDI 1.81 (0.38)nn 1.88 (0.38)nn n 1.89 (0.37)nn n 1.93 (0.34)nn n

Person-level variables

Sex 0.01 (0.00)nn 0.02 (0.00)nn 0.01 (0.00)nn 0.02 (0.00)nn

Age 0.04 (0.01)nn 0.04 (0.01)nn n 0.04 (0.01)nn 0.04 (0.01)nn nAge squared 0.03 (0.01)nn 0.02 (0.01)nn 0.03 (0.01)nn n 0.02 (0.01)nn

Marital status 0.06 (0.01)nn n 0.06 (0.01)nn n 0.06 (0.01)nn n 0.06 (0.01)nn n

Income 0.05 (0.01)nn n 0.04 (0.01)nn n 0.05 (0.01)nn n 0.04 (0.01)nn n

Educa tion 0.02 (0.01)n 0.02 (0.01)n 0.02 (0.01)n 0.02 (0.01)n

Employment status 0.08 (0.02)nn 0.08 (0.02)nn 0.08 (0.02)nn n 0.08 (0.02)nnChurch attendance 0.04 (0.01)nn n 0.03 (0.01)nn n 0.04 (0.01)nn n 0.03 (0.01)nn n

Right-wing orientation 0.07 (0.01)nn n 0.06 (0.01)nn 0.07 (0.01)nn n 0.06 (0.01)nn

Right-Wing Ori entation HD I 0.66 (0.32)+ 0.68 (0.32)+Meritocratic beli efs 0.07 (0.01)nn n 0.07 (0.01)nn n

Meritocratic Beli efs HD I 0.09 (0.23)Note. Robust standard errors a re giv en in par ent heses. H D I 5 human development index.+p < .10. np < .05. nnp < .01. nnnp < .001.

Volume 19Number 6

569

Jaime L. Napier and John T. Jost


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napier jost why are conservatives happier

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