Providing Public Assistance: Cognitive and Motivational Processes Underlying Liberal and Conservative Policy Preferences

Previous research in a wide variety of policy domains (e.g., azidothymidine for AIDS patients, low-income housing) has indicated that under no scarcity, liberals tend to help all claimants for assistance, whereas conservatives withhold assistance from people who are personally responsible for their...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality and social psychology 1993-12, Vol.65 (6), p.1205-1223
Main Authors: Skitka, Linda J, Tetlock, Philip E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Attribution
Behavior. Attitude
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition & reasoning
Conservatism
Conservatives
Factors
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Funding
Human
Ideologies
Individuals
Liberalism
Liberals
Motivation
Personal Values
Personality
Prosocial Behavior
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Public assistance programs
Resources
Social policy
Social psychology
Social research
Social welfare
Welfare Services (Government)
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Summary:Previous research in a wide variety of policy domains (e.g., azidothymidine for AIDS patients, low-income housing) has indicated that under no scarcity, liberals tend to help all claimants for assistance, whereas conservatives withhold assistance from people who are personally responsible for their predicament ( Skitka & Tetlock, 1992 ). Three studies explore 6 explanations for this robust finding: deterrence, self-interest, punitiveness, mindlessness, value orientation, and avoidance of trade-off reasoning. The findings shed light on both the cognitive strategies and motivational priorities of liberals and conservatives. It was discovered that liberals are not mindlessly egalitarian, but try to avoid socially awkward value trade-offs that require placing monetary values on lives. By contrast, conservatives are motivated to punish violators of social norms (e.g., deviations from traditional norms of sexuality or responsible behavior) and to deter free riders.
ISSN:0022-3514
1939-1315
DOI:10.1037/0022-3514.65.6.1205