Personality and Social Psychology - Frontiers

Political Orientation and Basic Personality Traits Articles NadinBeckmann DurhamUniversity,UnitedKingdom TomDickins MiddlesexUniversity,UnitedKingdom BertN.Bakker AmsterdamSchoolofCommunicationResearch,UniversityofAmsterdam,Netherlands Theeditorandreviewers'affiliationsarethelatestprovidedontheirLoopresearchprofilesandmaynotreflecttheirsituationatthetimeofreview. Abstract Introduction PoliticalOrientationandBasicPersonalityTraits PoliticalOrientationandProsocialBehavior IntegrationandDiscussion AuthorContributions ConflictofInterest References SuggestaResearchTopic> DownloadArticle DownloadPDF ReadCube EPUB XML(NLM) Supplementary Material Exportcitation EndNote ReferenceManager SimpleTEXTfile BibTex totalviews ViewArticleImpact SuggestaResearchTopic> SHAREON OpenSupplementalData MINIREVIEWarticle Front.Psychol.,19May2021 |https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.656725 TellMeWhoYouVotefor,andI'llTellYouWhoYouAre?TheAssociationsofPoliticalOrientationWithPersonalityandProsocialBehaviorandthePlausibilityofEvolutionaryApproaches ThomasGrünhage1*andMartinReuter1,2 1DepartmentofPsychology,UniversityofBonn,Bonn,Germany 2CenterforEconomicsandNeuroscience,UniversityofBonn,Bonn,Germany BlatantlyobservableintheU.S.currently,thepoliticalchasmgrows,representingaprototypeofpoliticalpolarizationinmostifnotallwesterndemocraticpoliticalsystems.Differentialpoliticalpsychologystrivestotracebackincreasinglypolarizedpoliticalconvictionstodifferencesontheindividuallevel.Recentevolutionaryinformedapproachessuggestthatinterindividualdifferencesinpoliticalorientationreflectdifferencesingroup-mindednessandcooperativeness.Contrarily,theexistenceofmeaningfulassociationsbetweenpoliticalorientation,personalitytraits,andinterpersonalbehaviorhasbeenquestionedcritically.Here,weshortlyreviewevidenceshowingthattheserelationshipsdoexist,whichsupportstheassumptionthatpoliticalorientationisdeeplyrootedinthehumancondition.Potentialreasonsfortheprematurerejectionoftheserelationshipsanddirectionsforfutureresearchareoutlinedandimplicationsforrefinementsandextensionsofevolutionaryinformedapproachesarederived. Introduction TheTwo-FoldBenefitsofDifferentialPoliticalPsychology Besidessheddinglightonsocialaspectsaspoliticalcommunicationandintergroup-relations,politicalpsychologyalsoencompassesadifferentialperspectivetreatingaperson'spoliticalorientationor“ideology”asatraitwithpotentialexplanatorypowerforexperienceandbehaviorin-andoutsideofthepoliticalsphere(Jost,2017;Claessensetal.,2020).Suchaconceptualizationpromisesbenefitsintwodirections:First,people'spoliticalorientation,oftenexhibitedstronglyandwillfully,mayprovidepsychologistswithhintstotheperson'spersonalitystructureandbehavioralinclinations.Second,thoroughdefinitionsofthepsychologicalfoundationsofpoliticalorientationenhancethecomprehensibilityofpoliticalphenomena,rangingfromtheintriguingideologicalconsistencyofissuestancesandvotingintentions(Jost,2006)toonlysuperficiallylogicalassociationsbetweenpoliticalorientationandphenomenaasenvironmentalism(FeinbergandWiller,2013;Wolskoetal.,2016). However,criticssuggestedthatpersonal,interpersonal,andpoliticaltemperamentsarelargelyindependentofeachotherand—thoughsubstantiallyheritableineachcase—thusrepresentdistinctdispositions.Thosedispositionsarethoughttoinfluenceexperienceandbehaviorspecificallyonthepersonal,theimmediatesocial(e.g.,dyadic),andthelargesocialscale,respectively,buthardlypossessanypredictivepoweracrossthosecategories(AlfordandHibbing,2007).Toclarifythisissue,here,wesummarizeresearchexaminingpoliticalorientation'sassociationswithpersonalityandinterpersonalbehaviorincontrolledexperimentsandattemptatentativeintegrationwithinanevolutionaryframework. TheTwo-FoldNatureofPoliticalOrientation Psychologicalaccountsofpoliticalorientationareample(Jostetal.,2003;Grahametal.,2009;Jost,2017),butmanyofthemshareastructuraldualismdifferentiatingtwofactors.Forexample,accordingtotheDual-Process-ModelofIdeology(DuckittandSibley,2010),politicalorientationcanbetracedbacktotwopersistentmotivationalgoals,namelyRight-Wing-AuthoritarianismandSocial-Dominance-Orientation,whicharedrivenbyviewsoftheworldasadangerousplaceoracompetitivejungle,respectively.PeoplescoringhighonRWAcanbecharacterizedasstickingtotradition,beingobedientandsubmissivetoauthorities,andaggressivetowardelementsthreateningtheestablishedorder.SDOreferstowhetheroneprefersintergrouprelationshipstobemorehierarchicalormoreequal. Anotherdualisticmodelrelatesdifferentformsofmoralfoundationstopoliticalorientation.Specifically,MoralFoundationsTheory(MFT)positsfivepsychologicalsystems,entailingspecificemotionalreactionsthatevolvedasadaptionstospecificevolutionaryproblems.Whereas,theHarmandFairnesssystemarereferredtoasindividualizingfoundationsbecauseoftheiremphasisonindividualrights,theLoyalty,AuthorityandPurityfoundationsarereferredtoasbindingfoundationsservinggroup-cohesion(Grahametal.,2009).Politicalconservativesorright-wingerswereshowntoendorseRWA,SDO,andbindingrelativetoindividualizingfoundationsmorestronglyinnumerousstudies(e.g.,Kolevaetal.,2012;GrünhageandReuter,2020b). Claessensetal.(2020)intriguinglyrelatedthistwo-foldstructureofthepsychologicalunderpinningsofpoliticalorientationtotwosignificantshiftsinhumanevolution:cooperationacrosswidernetworksandincreasinggroup-mindedness.Ifpoliticalorientationtracesbacktoevolutionaryevolvedpsychologicalmechanisms,thereisnoreasontoassumethatexperienceandbehavioroutsideofthepoliticalsphere(orthelargesocialscale)areindependentofpoliticalorientation.Onthecontrary,iftheclaimedindependenceofpersonal,interpersonal,andpoliticaldispositionsweresupported,theapproachofClaessensetal.(2020)wouldberenderedimplausible. PoliticalOrientationandBasicPersonalityTraits Thoughofgenerallymoderatesize,meaningfulnegativeassociationsofconservativepoliticalorientationandBigFivetraitsOpennessandAgreeableness,aswellasapositiverelationshipbetweenconservatismandConscientiousness,arewell-established:Inhigh-poweredstudiesacrossseveralcountries,OpennessisconsistentlynegativelyassociatedwithconservatismwhileConscientiousnessispositively(Sibleyetal.,2012;Bakker,2017;Fatke,2017;FurnhamandFenton-O'Creevy,2018;Kriegeretal.,2019;GrünhageandReuter,2020b).Expectably,Opennesstendstocorrelatenegativelywithmeasuresofsocialandeconomicconservatism,whileConscientiousnessismorepredictiveofsocialthaneconomicconservatism(Carneyetal.,2008;Gerberetal.,2010,2011;Vecchioneetal.,2011;Fatke,2017).TheoppositeisthecaseforAgreeableness,which—ifatall—predictssupportforsocialjusticeandredistributivepoliciespredominantly(Gerberetal.,2011;Kandleretal.,2012;alsoseeSibleyandDuckitt,2008).Accordingly,theeffectofOpennessonpoliticalorientationmeasuresisreflectedinequallystrongassociationswithRWAandSDO.Contrarily,ConscientiousnessandAgreeablenessaremorestronglyassociatedwithRWAandSDO,respectively(GrünhageandReuter,2020b;alsoseePerryandSibley,2012). Inevaluatingtheseandamultitudeoflessrecentstudiesonpersonality'sassociationwithpoliticalorientation,severalcaveatsemerge,thefirstofwhichreferstodimensionalcomplexitiesonbothsidesoftherelationship:Asearlyas2011,Gerberetal.identifiedcoarsemeasurementsofpoliticalorientationasapotentialreasonformissingorattenuatedrelationships(Mehrabian,1996;AlfordandHibbing,2007).Employingmeasuresdifferentiatingbetweensocialandeconomicconservatism,i.e.,acknowledgingthetwo-foldnaturedescribedabove,ledtoprofoundresultsasinmoststudiesdescribedabove(butseeFurnhamandFenton-O'Creevy,2018;Kriegeretal.,2019).AvaluablequalificationofthisapproachwasrecentlypresentedbyJohnstonandcolleagues(Johnston'setal.,2017;Johnston,2018):UsingextensiveAmericansurveyandexperimentaldata,theauthorsintriguinglyshowedthatmeasuresofclosedpersonality—includingbutnotrestrictedtoBigFivetraits—areprimarilyrelatedtothesocialorculturaldomainofpoliticalorientation.Critically,anideological“alignment”onlyoccursamongpoliticallyengagedindividuals,i.e.,dispositionallyclosedindividualssupportconservativesocialandeconomicpolicieswhentheyarepoliticallyengaged,while—amongtheunengaged—personality'sassociationswitheconomicpreferencesareabsentorevenreversed.Thus,atop-down(orelite-driven)attitudeorganizationcombiningconservativeculturalandright-wingeconomicstancesseeminglycompeteswithabottom-uporganizationcombiningconservativeculturalandleft-wingeconomicattitudes.Inlinewiththat,Malkaetal.(2019)showedthatinthemajorityof99examinednations,thesocialandculturaldomainareun-orevennegativelycorrelated.Hence,associalissuesdominateourunderstandingofthepoliticaldimension(seeEllisandStimson,2012)andserveasculturalcuesshapingengagedcitizen'seconomicpreferences(Johnston'setal.,2017),distinctpredictorsofeconomicpreferencesmaybeconcealed(FeldmanandJohnston,2014)butmayalsodiluteassociationsofpersonalitymeasureswithundifferentiated(sociallydominated)measuresofpoliticalorientation.BothwasdemonstratedmostrecentlybyBakkerandLelkes(2018)andXuetal.(2021):Here,Extraversionwasshowntobeassociatedwitheconomic(butnotcultural)conservatismandAgreeablenessparadoxicallyshowedpositiveassociationswithmeasuresofculturalbutstrongnegativeassociationswithmeasuresofeconomicconservatism.InlinewithJohnston,LavineandFederico(2017)'sargument,however,associationswithageneral,broadmeasureofpoliticalorientationweredrivenbythetraitspredictingsocialconservatism. Turningtotheothersideoftherelationship,undifferentiatedmeasurementsofpersonalityposeasevereproblem,too.Inadedicatedresearchprogram,BakkerandLelkes(2018)comparedelaboratemeasuresofBigFivetraitstoafrequentlyusedshortversionwithregardtoboth'associationswithpropermeasuresofpoliticalorientationanditstwodimensions.WiththeexceptionofNeuroticism,theshortmeasureyieldedmassivelyattenuatedeffectsizes,evenhidingthemeresignificanceofeffectsasapositiveassociationofExtraversionandeconomicconservatism.Ofnote,suchapatternhadalsobeendescribedinapriormeta-analysis(Sibleyetal.,2012)andspecificitemselectiondidnotaccountfortheattenuation.Xuetal.(2021)evenappliedinstrumentsallowingforthedifferentiationofaspectsoftheBigFive(atheoreticallevelbetweenthemaindomainsandtheconstituentfacets;DeYoungetal.,2007;SotoandJohn,2017)andfoundassociationsbetweenalmostallofthoseandproperlymeasureddimensionsofpoliticalorientation.Notably,differentialassociationsofthoseaspectswereshowntocanceleachotherout,forexampleinthecaseofCompassionvs.PolitenessrepresentingaspectsofAgreeableness.Inlinewiththat,studiesusingtheHEXACO-frameworkdifferentiatingAgreeablenessandHonesty-Humility,foundsubstantialassociationswithSDOforthelatterbutnottheformer(Leeetal.,2010;Sibleyetal.,2010).Furthermore,significantassociationswerefound,forexample,fortheAssertivenessaspectofExtraversionandtheWithdrawalaspectofNeuroticismwithconservatismandliberalism,respectively(Xuetal.,2021). Hence,itseemsjustifiedtostate,thatassociationsbetweenpoliticalorientationandBigFivepersonalitytraitsare—inthecasesofOpenness,ConscientiousnessandAgreeableness—well-establishedandpresumablyhavebeenunderestimatedwhileadditionalconcordanceswerecompletelyconcealedduetotheuseofundifferentiated(orevengrosslyunderspecified;seeAlfordandHibbing,2007)instruments.Ofnote,theinclusionofsomespecificmeasuresmayeveninflateassociationsduetoitemoverlapas,forexample,Sibleyetal.(2012)andVerhulstetal.(2012)discussforthevaluessubscaleoftheNEO-PI-R.Butformostfrequentlyusedpersonalitybatteriesthisisclearlynotaproblem[seeGerberetal.(2011)foradiscussion]. Asathirdcaveat,althoughmanyofthecitedstudiesstrivedtorecruitinternationalsamples,thereisaclearbiasinfavorofWEIRD(western,educated,industrialized,rich,developed;Henrichetal.,2010)countries,callingforhigh-poweredthoroughlydesignedcross-culturalreplicationstudieswithaspecialfocusoncountriesnotsharingthetraditionalwesternalignmentofconservativesocialandeconomicdimensions(e.g.,post-communistcountries).Ofnote,thereisvaluableworkinthisrealm,generallysupportingtheviewthatassociationsbetweenindicatorsofclosedpersonalityandculturalconservatismarequitestablewhereasassociationswiththeeconomicdomainshiftacrossculturalbackgroundsinlinewithJohnstonetal.'sreasoning(Malkaetal.,2014;Roetsetal.,2014;Fatke,2017).However,presumablyduetotheextensivescopeofthesestudies,methodiccriticismsasoutlinedaboveapplyhereinaparticularway(LudekeandLarsen,2017). Importantly,fourth,evenstableassociationssurelydonotimplycausality.Whetherpersonalitycausespoliticalorientationisadifficultquestionnotanswereddefinitely.Longitudinalstudiesfindingtheassumedcausalpathway(e.g.,PerryandSibley,2012)sufferfromlowpowerandrepresentativeness.Otherssuggestthatthereisnocausalrelationshipbetweenbothphenomenaineitherdirectionbuttheirassociationtracesbacktoacommongeneticfactor.However,thesestudiessufferfromcoarsemeasurementsandusageofoutdatedinstruments(Verhulstetal.,2012;OsborneandSibley,2020).Ofnote,acausalrelationshipisnoprerequisiteforevolutionaryinformedapproachesasoutlinedbelow. Lastly,yet,thereislittleresearchonpotentialmoderators.Whiletherelationshipsbetweenpersonalityandsocialpoliticalorientationareimpressivelystable,personality'sassociationwitheconomicpreferencesissensitivetointerculturalandinterindividualdifferencesaspoliticalengagement(seeabove),education,incomeandsocialclass(Bakker,2017;FedericoandMalka,2018;FurnhamandFenton-O'Creevy,2018).Whilethesefactorsarewell-knowninpoliticalsciences,ratherpsychologicalconceptsaschildhoodtraumaalsoseemtomoderatetheassociationbetweenpersonalityandpoliticalorientation(DeNeve,2015). Summingup,theliteratureclearlyindicatesthatassociationsbetweenbasicpersonalitytraitsandpoliticalorientationaresubstantial.Dismissalsofthosearelikelyattributabletomissingdifferentiationsontheconceptualandmethodicallevel. PoliticalOrientationandProsocialBehavior Missinglinksbetweenpoliticalorientationandprosocialbehavioralinclinationsincontrolledexperimentscouldhardlybereconciledwithevolutionarymodels.However,initialevidenceindeedyieldednull-resultsforthemostpart:Fehretal.(2003)reportedgreaterbehavioralindicesoftrustamongproponentsofGermany'slargestpartiesbutnoassociationwithpoliticalorientationperse.Likewise,Ballietetal.(2016)foundnoassociationofinvestmentsintheTrust-Game(TG;thetrusteereceivesthetripledtransferoftheinvestorandmayormaynotgiveback)andpoliticalorientation.Participantsmerelyshowedingroup-favoritismbytransferringmoretofellowrepublicansvs.democrats.AlfordandHibbing(2007)foundnorelationshipbetweenpoliticalorientationandwithdrawalsfromacommonpooloffundsandwithoffersinanUltimatum-Game(UG;thefirstplayerneedstodecidewhetherornothegivesapartofhisendowmenttothesecondplayerwhohastheoptionofrejectingtheofferwhichleadstonopaymenttobothplayers)andAndersonandMellor(2005)didnotfinddifferencesbetweenparticipantswithdemocraticvs.republicanleaningsandbetweenliberalvs.conservativeparticipantsinaveragedtransfersin30roundsofthePublic-Goods-Game(PGG;participantscaninvestinapublicgood,whichismultipliedandevenlydistributedacrossplayersattheendofaround)andtheTrust-Game. Bycontrast,VanLangeetal.(2012)andChirumboloetal.(2016)showedinmultiplesamplesthatpeoplewithcompetitiveorindividualistsocialvalueorientations(operationalizedbyapoint-allocatinggame)arepoliticallymoreconservativethanpeopleendorsingaprosocialorientation.Recently,GrünhageandReuter(2020a)reportedsignificantassociationsbetweenconservatismandCooperativeness(PGG)andTrust(TG),beingspecificallyassociatedwithSDOandRWA,respectively.Accordingly,bothgamescoresweredifferentiallyassociatedwiththeapprovalofparties'policystances:Trustpredictedsupportfortraditionalistvs.progressiveparties,whereasCooperativenesspredictedaccordancewithmarket-liberalvs.regulation-focusedparties.Furthermore,politicalorientationdidnotpredictunspecificrisk-toleranceoperationalizedbyalotterygame. Wesuggestthattheinconsistencyofresultsisduetotwofactors: First,studiesfindingnull-resultsallowedcharacteristicsoftheotherplayer(s)toinfluenceparticipant'sdecisions,potentiallycoveringthesmallbutmeaningfuleffectsofpoliticalorientation.Informationabouttheopponent'spoliticalleanings(Ballietetal.,2016),theirbehaviorinpreviousrounds(AndersonandMellor,2005),andpotentiallyevenmereresemblancewithphysicallypresentopponents(cf.DeBruine,2002)certainlyarecapableofoverridingpoliticalorientation'sinfluenceoninitialbehavioraltendencies.Ifthesesituationalfactorsarecontrolled,asdoneinthestudiesbyChirumboloetal.(2016),GrünhageandReuter(2020a),andVanLangeetal.(2012),anassociationofbehavioraltendencieswithpoliticalorientationisobservable.However,suchaviewimpliesthatbehavioraldispositionsmayalsobeamplifiedbycertainsituationalframes.Insupportofthisassumption,Halalietal.(2018),forexample,foundSDOtobepredictiveofegoisticdecisionsinnestedsocialdilemmagameswheretheparticipantallocatedmoneytohimself,exclusivelytotheadvantagedingrouporuniversallytothein-andthedisadvantagedoutgroup.Acrossthreeintergroup-frames(Whitesvs.Blacks,Christiansvs.Muslims,andIsraelisvs.Palestinians),SDOwasconsistentlynegativelyrelatedtouniversalallocations,positivelyassociatedwithegoisticdecisions,andunrelatedtoparochialcooperation. Second,inconsistentpatternsofrelationshipsbetweenpoliticalvariablesandbehaviorinverydiversegameshavebeenprematurelyinterpretedaspointingtomissingrelationships(AlfordandHibbing,2007;Haesevoetsetal.,2015).But,asHaesevoetsetal.(2015)demonstratedintriguingly,behaviorinvariousgamesisnotintercorrelatedverystrongly,suggestingthatdifferentgamesassessdifferentbehavioraldispositions.AblatantexamplerelatedtoourfirstpointisthedifferencebetweentheUltimatum-andtheDictator-Game(DG;thereceiverhasnooptiontorejecttheoffer).TransfersintheformerbutnotinthelatterwerefoundtobenegativelyassociatedwithRWAandSDO(Haesevoetsetal.,2015).However,insharpcontrasttotheDG,theUG'sstructureallowsperceivedcharacteristicsofthesecondmovertoinfluencethefirstmover'sdecisionmassivelyand,thus,possibly,tooverrideinitialinclinations.Inasimilarvein,RWAonlynegligiblycorrelatedwithbehaviorinclassicPrisoner'sDilemmaarrangementsbutpredictedbehaviorintheassurancevariant(wherethebestoutcomeisyieldedbymutualcooperationinsteadofdefectingacooperativepartner).Hence,thecriticalquestionis,whichgameismostreflectiveofthebehavioraldispositioninquestion.AlfordandHibbing(2007)basedtheirrejectionofmeaningfulassociationsbetweeninterpersonalbehavioraltendenciesandpoliticalorientationonaDGandasimplepoolwithdrawalgamewithaclearmodalchoice,which—inadditiontothementionedcaveats—introducesthestatisticalproblemofvariancerestriction.Contrarily,withdrawalsinaCommonsDilemma(whereplayerscanindividuallyharvestfromacollectiveassetthatisdoubledattheendanddistributedequallyacross>2players)wereshowntobesignificantlyassociatedwithRWAandSDO(Haesevoetsetal.,2015). Hence,theemergingpictureseemstobe:Thelesscharacteristicsoftheopponent(s)caninfluencedecisions,andthemoreecologicallyvalidgameparadigmsare,thestrongermeasuresofpoliticalorientationoritspsychologicalfoundationspredictconcreteinterpersonalbehavior.Futureresearch,thus,shouldapplywell-validatedparadigmstoyieldclearlydefinedmeasuresofdistinguishableaspectsofpro-orantisocialbehaviorasCooperativeness,Trust,Reciprocity,orgreedyvs.anxiousDefection(cf.DeDreuetal.,2010;EnglmaierandGebhardt,2016).Furthermore,themoderatinginfluencesoftheopponents'characteristicsclearlydeserveattention.Thesemaynotonlyreducebutalsostrengthenthepredictivepowerofpoliticalorientationmeasures.Lastly,toourknowledge,therearenolongitudinalstudiesexplicitlyexaminingthecausalorderofbehavioralinclinationsandpoliticalorientation. IntegrationandDiscussion Especiallyinlightofrecentevolutionaryaccountsofpoliticalorientation'sroots,thequestionarises,whytheexistenceofmeaningfulcorrelationsofpersonalityandinterpersonalbehaviorwithpoliticalorientationisquestionedcritically.Wehaveoutlinedconceptualandmethodologicalproblemsthatmayhavecoveredmeaningful,andindeedconsistent,associationsbetweenpersonal,interpersonal,andpoliticaltemperamentsinthepastandcitedcumulatingstudiesshowingthattheserelationshipsexist. Knowingtheseassociationscanfurtherqualifyevolutionaryaccountsonpoliticalorientation.Specifically,withregardtotheframeworkofferedbyClaessensetal.(2020),itisimportanttoconsidertheconspicuous“primacy”ofthesocialorculturaldomainascomparedtotheeconomicdomaininpoliticalorientation'sassociationwithpersonalitydemonstratedbyJohnstonandcolleagues(Johnston'setal.,2017;Johnston,2018).ConnectinglowerscoresonOpennessandhigherscoresonthePolitenessaspectofAgreeablenesstoincreasedgroup-bindingmotivationsisintuitivelyplausible.Goingfurther,weproposethatinlessgroup-orientedsocieties(i.e.,amongsocialliberals)varianceincooperativenessacrosslargernetworksisrestricted,becausehere,individualsneedtocooperatewithandaccordinglytruststrangerstogainevolutionarybenefits.Curry(2016)postulatesmutualism/coordinationandexchangeastwodomainsofmoralityaimedatincreasingbenefitsthroughcooperation(e.g.,byshowingingroupfavoritisminthefirstorestablishingreciprocitynormsinthesecondcase).Possibly,conservatismandliberalismthusequaldistinctadaptationstothisevolutionarychallenge.Notethatthisframeworkdoesnotrequirepersonalityandbehavioraldispositionstocausallyprecedepoliticalorientation.Flippingperspectives,suchaframeworkmayanswerquestionsleftopenbyJohnston'setal.(2017):asoutlinedabove,theseauthorssuggestthatengagedpeoplealigntheireconomicpreferencestothoseofsociallyattractivepoliticalelitesbuttheyleaveopenwhytheseelitesstandforwhattheystandforeconomically.ThefindingssummarizedheresuggestthatthevarianceofAgreeablenessandCooperativenessislessrestrictedinconservative(group-oriented)thaninliberalcommunities.Inlinewithfindingsofhigherassertivenessandlowerwithdrawal-tendenciesinconservatives,itisthusmorelikelythatassertive,uncompassionate,dominantandlessuniversallycooperativeindividualstaketheleadthaninliberalcommunitieswherecompassionateAgreeablenessandCooperativenessaredistributedmoreequally.Ofnote,suchaframeworkallowsforunengagedconservativeindividualstoactuallysupportliberaleconomicpoliciesasJohnston'setal.(2017)showed.Furthermore,thinkingalongevolutionarylinesmayanswerthequestionwhythesocialdomaindominatesthepoliticaldivide,whichwasnotthecaseuntilthe1960s(EllisandStimson,2012).Wesuggestthatthesignificanceofgroup-bindingmotifsiscontingentonsituationalfactors.Precisely,if,asforthelargestpartofourevolutionarypast,humanlifeisorganizedinsmallgroupsanyway,economicclassconflictmayprevail.Butsinceglobalizationanddigitalizationmassivelyexpandedsocialnetworks,socialconflictlinesgainedsignificance.Naturally,thismodelremainsspeculativeandtentativeatthispoint.Muchmoreresearchontemporal,social,cultural,psychological,biological,andgeneticinfluencesshouldbeintegrated. Hence,thisreviewonlyscratchesthesurface.Weintentionallyfocusedonfindingsandperspectivesnotcoveredbyextensivepriorreviews(Jost,2017;Jostetal.,2017),ononespecificconceptofpersonalityandononespecificclassofexperimentalparadigms,therebydismissingawealthofliteratureondispositionalneeds,values,regulatoryfoci,biasesetc. Putsimply,thereviewedliteraturesuggeststhatpeopleadvocatingcorrectlydefinedandthoroughlyassessedrightvs.leftorconservativevs.liberalpoliciesdodifferintheirpsychologicalprofileswithrespecttopersonalityandinterpersonalbehavioraldispositions.Presumably,thisisbecauseaproperdefinitionofconservativevs.liberalreferstoevolutionarilyconserveddifferencesincooperativenessandgroup-mindedness(Claessensetal.,2020). Knowingaboutthepsychologicalpeculiaritiesofright-vs.left-wingadherentsisofparticularrelevance—unsurprisingly—inthepoliticalrealm.Knowingthepsychologicalandbehavioralcorrelatesofpoliticalorientationcanenhancetraceabilityofpoliticaldecisions,anditmayprovefruitfulinthequalificationoftheoriesofpoliticalscience:Especially,falseassumptionsofequivalenceasimplicatedinextremism-,populism-orterrorism-accountsshouldbereevaluatedinthelightofthepsychologicalpeculiaritiesassociatedwithleft-vs.right-wingorientations(BaronandJost,2019). Generally,anadequate,empiricallysupportedappreciationofthemutualrelationshipbetweenpoliticalconvictionsandpsychologicalcharacteristicsmayhelpdisenchantmythsand—ultimately—improveinter-ideologicaldialogue. AuthorContributions TGcontributedthefirstdraftofthemanuscript.MRrevisedthemanuscript.Allauthorscontributedtothearticleandapprovedthesubmittedversion. ConflictofInterest Theauthorsdeclarethattheresearchwasconductedintheabsenceofanycommercialorfinancialrelationshipsthatcouldbeconstruedasapotentialconflictofinterest. 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Keywords:politicalorientation,conservatism,behavioraleconomics,personality,cooperativeness,trust Citation:GrünhageTandReuterM(2021)TellMeWhoYouVotefor,andI'llTellYouWhoYouAre?TheAssociationsofPoliticalOrientationWithPersonalityandProsocialBehaviorandthePlausibilityofEvolutionaryApproaches.Front.Psychol.12:656725.doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.656725 Received:21January2021;Accepted:22April2021;Published:19May2021. Editedby:NadinBeckmann,DurhamUniversity,UnitedKingdom Reviewedby:BertN.Bakker,UniversityofAmsterdam,NetherlandsTomDickins,MiddlesexUniversity,UnitedKingdom Copyright©2021GrünhageandReuter.Thisisanopen-accessarticledistributedunderthetermsoftheCreativeCommonsAttributionLicense(CCBY).Theuse,distributionorreproductioninotherforumsispermitted,providedtheoriginalauthor(s)andthecopyrightowner(s)arecreditedandthattheoriginalpublicationinthisjournaliscited,inaccordancewithacceptedacademicpractice.Nouse,distributionorreproductionispermittedwhichdoesnotcomplywiththeseterms. *Correspondence:ThomasGrünhage,[email protected] COMMENTARY ORIGINALARTICLE Peoplealsolookedat SuggestaResearchTopic>