Political Ideology, Trust, and Cooperation

• Date: 01 April 2018
• Author: Junhui Wu,Joshua M. Tybur,Christian Antonellis,Daniel Balliet,Paul A. M. Van Lange
• Published date: 01 April 2018
• DOI: 10.1177/0022002716658694
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Political Ideology, Trust,

and Cooperation:

In-group Favoritism

among Republicans and

Democrats during a US

National Election

Daniel Balliet

1

, Joshua M. Tybur

1

, Junhui Wu

1

,

Christian Antonellis

1

, and Paul A. M. Van Lange

1

Abstract

Theories suggest that political ideology relates to cooperation, with conservatives

being more likely to pursue selfish outcomes, and liberals more likely to pursue

egalitarian outcomes. In study 1, we examine how political ideology and political

party affiliation (Republican vs. Democrat) predict cooperation with a partner who

self-identifies as Republican or Democrat in two samples before (n¼362) and after

(n¼366) the 2012 US presidential election. Liberals show slightly more concern for

their partners’ outcomes compared to conservatives (study 1), and in study 2 this

relation is supported by a meta-analysis (r¼.15). However, in study 1, political

ideology did not relate to cooperation in general. Both Republicans and Democrats

extend more cooperation to their in-group relative to the out-group, and this is

explained by expectations of cooperation from in-group versus out-group members.

We discuss the relation between political ideology and cooperation within and

between groups.

1

Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Corresponding Author:

Daniel Balliet, Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, VU Amsterdam, Van der

Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Email: d.p.balliet@vu.nl

Journal of Conflict Resolution

2018, Vol. 62(4) 797-818

ªThe Author(s) 2016

Reprints and permission:

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DOI: 10.1177/0022002716658694

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Keywords

political ideology, in-group favoritism, cooperation, trust, social dominance

orientation, right-wing authoritarianism

Conflict between political coalitions is a hallmark of vibrant democracies. To main-

tain a well-functioning democratic republic, individuals must negotiate with mem-

bers of different political coalitions, make concessions, and ultimately cooperate.

This process often unfolds in a suboptimal manner that can result in dramatic

negative consequences to society, even to the point of government collapse. Indeed,

coordinating and cooperating with individuals who have different goals, ideologies,

and interests is one of the greatest challenges for politicians.

Given how critical cooperation between individuals of different ideologies is to a

well-functioning government, surprisingly little research has examined cooperation

between individuals of different political parties. Here we aim to contribute to this

literature by examining how political ideology relates to (a) concern for others’

outcomes, (b) trust in others, (c) willingness to sacrifice self-interest to cooperate

with others, and (d) in-group favo ritism in terms of cooperation. Mo reover, we

consider the role of individual differences—social dominance orienta tion (SDO;

Pratto et al. 1994) and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA; Altemeyer 1998)—in

cooperation within and between political coalitions. Below we outline ideas about

when and how political ideology and coalitional membership may influence coop-

eration with in-group and out-group political coalition members.

Political Ideology and Cooperation

Political ideology is a ‘‘set of beliefs about the proper order of society and how it can

be achieved’’ (Erikson and Tedin 2003, 64). An abundance of research finds that

ideology varies on a left (liberal)–right (conservative) dimension (Bobbio 1996; for

a review, see Jost, Federica, and Napier 2009). Liberals tend to support progressive

change and egalitarianism, while conservatives support stability and find hierarchy

acceptable. Consequently, ideology relates to desired behavioral options and out-

comes during social decision making, with liberals preferring more egalitarian out-

comes and conservatives accepting more unequal outcomes.

Political ideology may relate to cooperation via concerns about equality. Desire

for equality (inequality aversion) can promote a willingness to cooperate with others

(Fehr and Schmidt 1999; Van Lange 1999). Given that concern for equality is one of

the defining features of liberal ideologies (Wetherell, Br andt, and Reyna 2013),

liberals might be more motivated to sacrifice their own self-interest to establish

equal and mutually beneficial outcomes in social interactions. Additionally, since

conservative ideologies are associated with individualism and self-reliance (Feld-

man 1988; Sheldon and Nichols 2009), and these values promote individual con-

cerns over collective concerns (e.g., Feldman and Zaller 1992), we expect that

798 Journal of Conflict Resolution 62(4)