Is it all “bad news” for conservatives? Constructive criticism of two previous studies

Abstract

The current article reviews and critiques two published studies concerning the associations between socially conservative and liberal judgments and dark personality traits. Those studies presented statistically substantial findings of associations between socially conservative judgments on a Moral Intuition Survey and “dark triad” traits, i.e., narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Much fewer statistically significant associations between liberal judgments and dark triad traits were found in those studies, with a greater chance of false positive results for the latter associations. The current analysis identifies limitations in the earlier studies' methodology, statistical analyses, and societal considerations that place their findings in a more nuanced context. The paper concludes with a recommendation for further research since science is an open and evolving process