Political conservatives are happier than liberals. We proposed that this happiness gap is accounted for by specific
attitude and personality differences associated with positive adjustment and mental health. In contrast, a prominent
social psychological explanation of the gap is that conservatives, who are described as fearful, defensive, and low
in self-esteem, will rationalize away social inequalities in order to justify the status quo (system justification). In 4
studies, conservatives expressed greater personal agency (e.g., personal control, responsibility), more positive
outlook (e.g., optimism, self-worth), more transcendent moral beliefs (e.g., greater religiosity, greater moral clarity,
less tolerance of transgressions), and a generalized belief in fairness, and these differences accounted for the
happiness gap. These patterns are consistent with the positive adjustment explanation.