Classic views on right-wing attitudes suggest that right-wing adherents are characterized by psychological problems, such as deeply rooted anxieties and fundamental unhappiness. This perspective has gained much attention and has influenced the way researchers and even laypeople think about right-wing individuals. We reviewed recent accumulated evidence that suggests that right-wing attitudes are not “bad for the self” and that right-wing adherents have relatively normal mental lives. Specifically, we found that although right-wing adherents feel threatened by societal problems (external threat), they do not experience strong personal anxieties (internal threat). Moreover, our evidence showed that right-wing attitudes are weakly related to psychological ill-being. These findings are discussed in terms of the self-defensive function of right-wing attitudes, and a novel perspective that distinguishes between different levels of the self is proposed.
AdornoT. W.Frenkel-BrunswikE.LevinsonD. J.SanfordR. N. (1950). The authoritarian personality. New York, NY: Harper and Row.
2.
AltemeyerB. (1981). Right-wing authoritarianism. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: University of Manitoba Press.
3.
BrooksA. C. (2008). Gross national happiness: Why happiness matters for America—and how we can get more of it. New York, NY: Basic Books.
4.
CohrsJ. C.IblerS. (2009). Authoritarianism, threat, and prejudice: An analysis of mediation and moderation. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 31, 81–94.
5.
DotyR. M.PetersonB. E.WinterD. G. (1991). Threat and authoritarianism in the United States 1978–1987. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 629–640.
6.
DuckittJ. (2001). A dual-process cognitive-motivational theory of ideology and prejudice. In ZannaM. P. (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 33, pp. 41–113). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
7.
DuriezB.KlimstraT. A.LuyckxK.BeyersW.SoenensB. (2011). Right-wing authoritarianism: Protective factor against or risk factor for depression?European Journal of Personality, 26, 536–549.
8.
JostJ. T.BanajiM. R. (1994). The role of stereotyping in system-justification and the production of false consciousness. British Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 1–27.
9.
JostJ. T.GlaserJ.KruglanskiA. W.SullowayF. (2003). Political conservatism as motivated social cognition. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 339–375.
10.
JostJ. T.HunyadyO. (2002). The psychology of system justification and the palliative function of ideology. European Review of Social Psychology, 13, 111–153.
11.
MacInnisC. C.BusseriM. A.ChomaB. L.HodsonG. (2013). The happy cyclist: Examining the association between generalized authoritarianism and subjective well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 55, 789–793.
12.
MaslowA. H. (1943). The authoritarian character structure. Journal of Social Psychology, 18, 401–411.
13.
MeloenJ. (1993). The F-scale as a predictor of fascism: An overview of 40 years of authoritarianism research. In StoneW. F.LedererG.ChristieR. (Eds.), Strength and weakness: The authoritarian personality today (pp. 47–69). New York, NY: Springer Verlag.
14.
NapierJ. L.JostJ. T. (2008). Why are conservatives happier than liberals?Psychological Science, 19, 565–572.
15.
OesterreichD. (2005). Flight into security: A new approach and measure of the authoritarian personality. Political Psychology, 26, 275–297.
16.
OnraetE.Van HielA.CornelisI. (2013). Threat and right-wing attitudes: A cross-national approach. Political Psychology, 34, 791–803.
17.
OnraetE.Van HielA.DhontK. (2013). The relationship between right-wing ideological attitudes and psychological well-being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39, 509–522.
18.
OnraetE.Van HielA.DhontK.PattynS. (2013). Internal and external threat in relationship with right-wing attitudes. Journal of Personality, 81, 233–248.
19.
PetersonB. E.DuncanL. E. (2007). Midlife women’s generativity and authoritarianism: Marriage, motherhood, and 10 years of aging. Psychology and Aging, 22, 411–419.
20.
PrattoF.SidaniusJ.StallworthL. M.MalleB. F. (1994). Social dominance orientation: A personality variable predicting social and political attitudes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 741–763.
21.
RokeachM. (1960). The open and closed mind: Investigations into the nature of belief systems and personality systems. New York, NY: Basic Books.
22.
SalesS. M. (1973). Threat as a factor in authoritarianism: An analysis of archival data. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 28, 44–57.
23.
SchlenkerB. R.ChambersJ. R.LeB. M. (2012). Conservatives are happier than liberals, but why? Political ideology, personality, and life satisfaction. Journal of Research in Personality, 46, 127–146.
24.
SibleyC. G.DuckittJ. (2008). Personality and prejudice: A meta-analysis and theoretical review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 12, 248–279.
25.
StephanW. G.RenfroC. L. (2002). The role of threats in intergroup relations. In MackieD.SmithE. R. (Eds.), From prejudice to intergroup emotions (pp. 191–208). New York, NY: Psychology Press.
26.
Van HielA.BrebelsL. (2011). Conservatism is good for you: Cultural conservatism protects self-esteem in older adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 120–123.
27.
WilsonG. D. (1973). The psychology of conservatism. London, England: Academic Press.
