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Will the real fundamental difference underlying ideology please stand up?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2014

Matt Motyl
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904. [email protected]://people.virginia.edu/~msm6sw/
Ravi Iyer
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089. [email protected]

Abstract

Negativity bias explains many ideological differences, yet does not explain research such as conservatives' greater life satisfaction. Conservatives live in safer communities, perhaps to escape negative emotions, yet display numerous other community preferences unrelated to negativity. This tendency toward cognitive consistency can explain both these phenomena and many of the phenomena described in the target article.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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