Loneliness Corresponds with Politically Conservative Thought

Kory Floyd

doi:10.12691/rpbs-5-1-3

Abstract

A formidable empirical literature describes loneliness as a perceived deficiency in social connection and inclusion associated with a range of mental and physical health problems and multiple maladaptive coping strategies. Many of these negative consequences can be accounted for by Cacioppo, Cacioppo, and Boomsma’s evolutionary theory of loneliness, which reasons that a lack of adequate interpersonal connection is aversive because, evolutionarily, such a detriment posed threats to the ability of individuals to survive and reproduce. The theory proposes that loneliness therefore produces feelings of heightened anxiety and perceptions of vulnerability to threat that motivate individuals to attend to their relational needs. In modernity, heightened anxiety and perceptions of threat also correspond to politically conservative ideologies, such as a fear of foreigners (xenophobia), a preference for authoritarianism, and a lack of tolerance for distress. Working from the premise of Cacioppo’s theory, the present study therefore reasoned that loneliness is associated with endorsement of such politically conservative values. A nationwide survey of 848 American adults confirmed that loneliness is positively correlated with xenophobia and endorsement of right-wing authoritarianism and negatively associated with distress tolerance.

Highlights

When individuals perceive a discrepancy between their desired and experienced levels of social connection—a condition known as loneliness— they are susceptible to detriments in their health and well-being irrespective of their marital status, parenthood status, frequency of contact with friends, participation in social or religious groups, or other objective markers of social engagement [8]
This paper argues that their evolutionary account implies that loneliness corresponds to mental and physical health detriments and to political and social values
Feelings of anxiety and vulnerability coincide with politically conservative thought, so the current study investigated the logical deduction that loneliness corresponds with political conservatism

Summary

Introduction

Contrariwise, a robust empirical literature details the variety of mental and physical health detriments associated with a lack of social connection [4,5,6]. It is the perception of social isolation—rather than any objective measure of social connectedness—that is primarily problematic [7]. This paper argues that their evolutionary account implies that loneliness corresponds to mental and physical health detriments and to political and social values. Research linking anxiety and perceived threat to stereotypically conservative values is described, and hypotheses connecting loneliness to political conservatism are advanced

Results

Discussion

Conclusion