Morality Plays For Both Teams

Political discussions undoubtedly touch on the idea of “moral values:” those nebulous norms and ideals by which we all live our lives, however depraved. While these “values” are often attributed to the right wing, a new study from the National Science Foundation claims that all voters, regardless of political affiliation, vote with their heart:

[Two] studies tested whether the effects of moral conviction on voting or intentions to vote were stronger for those on the political right or left.

“Even if their moral compasses are set in different directions, our results indicate that liberals and conservatives were equally likely to view their candidate choices and positions on issues of the day as moral convictions, and these moral convictions were associated with increased voting behavior and intentions to vote,” [lead author] Linda Skitka said.

“When people perceive an issue in a moral light, it is more likely to impact behavior than when attitudes are perceived as strong but nonmoral,” she said.

Are there really any amoral political issues?