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The Moral Stereotypes of Liberals and Conservatives: Exaggeration of Differences across the Political Spectrum

Author

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  • Jesse Graham
  • Brian A Nosek
  • Jonathan Haidt

Abstract

We investigated the moral stereotypes political liberals and conservatives have of themselves and each other. In reality, liberals endorse the individual-focused moral concerns of compassion and fairness more than conservatives do, and conservatives endorse the group-focused moral concerns of ingroup loyalty, respect for authorities and traditions, and physical/spiritual purity more than liberals do. 2,212 U.S. participants filled out the Moral Foundations Questionnaire with their own answers, or as a typical liberal or conservative would answer. Across the political spectrum, moral stereotypes about “typical” liberals and conservatives correctly reflected the direction of actual differences in foundation endorsement but exaggerated the magnitude of these differences. Contrary to common theories of stereotyping, the moral stereotypes were not simple underestimations of the political outgroup's morality. Both liberals and conservatives exaggerated the ideological extremity of moral concerns for the ingroup as well as the outgroup. Liberals were least accurate about both groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Jesse Graham & Brian A Nosek & Jonathan Haidt, 2012. "The Moral Stereotypes of Liberals and Conservatives: Exaggeration of Differences across the Political Spectrum," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(12), pages 1-13, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0050092
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0050092
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk & Hester van Herk & Robbert Maseland, 2022. "The Nature of Societal Conflict in Europe; an Archetypal Analysis of the Postmodern Cosmopolitan, Rural Traditionalist and Urban Precariat," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(6), pages 1701-1722, November.
    2. Findor Andrej, 2015. "Moral Foundations of Welfare Attitudes: The Role of Moral Intuition and Reasoning in Pursuing Social Justice," Central European Journal of Public Policy, Sciendo, vol. 9(2), pages 72-83, December.
    3. Giorgia Ponsi & Maria Serena Panasiti & Salvatore Maria Aglioti & Marco Tullio Liuzza, 2017. "Right-wing authoritarianism and stereotype-driven expectations interact in shaping intergroup trust in one-shot vs multiple-round social interactions," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(12), pages 1-23, December.
    4. Øivind Schøyen, 2024. "Suspicious minds and views of fairness," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 97(1), pages 67-88, August.
    5. Giampaolo Bonomi & Nicola Gennaioli & Guido Tabellini, 2021. "Identity, Beliefs, and Political Conflict," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 136(4), pages 2371-2411.
    6. repec:cup:judgdm:v:15:y:2020:i:1:p:149-158 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Lucas Murrins Marques & Scott Clifford & Vijeth Iyengar & Graziela Vieira Bonato & Patrícia Moraes Cabral & Rafaela Barreto dos Santos & Roberto Cabeza & Walter Sinnott-Armstrong & Paulo Sérgio Bogg, 2020. "Translation and validation of the Moral Foundations Vignettes (MFVs) for the Portuguese language in a Brazilian sample," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 15(1), pages 149-158, January.
    8. Brian B Boutwell & Joseph L Nedelec & Bo Winegard & Todd Shackelford & Kevin M Beaver & Michael Vaughn & J C Barnes & John P Wright, 2017. "The prevalence of discrimination across racial groups in contemporary America: Results from a nationally representative sample of adults," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(8), pages 1-8, August.
    9. Laura Niemi & Liane Young, 2013. "Caring across Boundaries versus Keeping Boundaries Intact: Links between Moral Values and Interpersonal Orientations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(12), pages 1-12, December.
    10. Boman, Laura & Urumutta Hewage, Ganga S. & Hasford, Jonathan, 2023. "Strength in diversity: How incongruent racial cues enhance consumer preferences toward conservative brands," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).

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