Political Psychology

A new analysis of millions of social media posts reveals that extreme political polarization is closely linked to cognitive distortions, the rigid and exaggerated thought patterns often associated with anxiety and depression.

A new study mapping European political attitudes reveals that people who favor left-wing economic policies but hold conservative cultural views are the most likely to endorse conspiracy theories.

A new study finds that people's happiness and life satisfaction are closely associated with their support for government policies. The findings highlight how political alignment relates to mental well-being during periods of rapid political change.

A new study reveals that highly personalized messages and interactive digital debates do not change voters' minds any better than a single generic argument. Generative artificial intelligence is helping scientists challenge decades of academic theories about political persuasion.

A recent study published in Personality and Individual Differences provides evidence that believing words cause lasting psychological harm is linked to worse mental health. The research suggests this belief also tends to align with progressive political views.

People with more formal schooling are reliably less likely to hold authoritarian political views. A new study of Norwegian twins reveals that childhood environments and genetics largely explain this link, though education itself still plays a role.

New research published in Political Psychology provides evidence that challenging voters with surprising facts can reduce political hostility. The findings suggest that a short exercise designed to induce doubt tends to soften animosity between rival political factions.

A new study in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin suggests liberals and conservatives share a common moral foundation of preventing harm. Deep political divides emerge because the two sides see different people as vulnerable victims.

When choosing between milk and eggs, Democrats and Republicans buy the exact same grocery items. However, a neuroimaging study shows that their brains use entirely different neural pathways to make those identical decisions.

A new study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin suggests that public support for wealth redistribution is driven by beliefs about fairness rather than jealousy. It provides evidence that the "politics of envy" narrative is inaccurate.

Do political beliefs dictate how we view the realities of war? A new study reveals that conservatives consistently accept higher numbers of unintended civilian casualties than liberals do, driven by fundamental differences in core moral values.

People with high childhood intelligence scores often hold progressive social views as adults. A new study suggests that this progressive shift is not innate, but heavily depends on experiencing the academic environments unique to a college campus.

An analysis spanning fifty years reveals that the cost of gasoline is one of the strongest predictors of presidential approval ratings, acting in an uneven pattern where initial price spikes cause the most political damage for the incumbent.

New research suggests that while open-mindedness and liberal ideology often go hand-in-hand, they are different traits. Actively open-minded thinking, rather than political liberalism, is the true driving force behind healthy reasoning and resistance to misinformation.

A recent study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggests people consistently overestimate how much their political peers will judge them for changing their minds. This exaggerated fear tends to stifle open public discourse through self-censorship.