Sex, Power, and Partisanship: How Evolutionary Science Makes Sense of Our Political Divide - Hector A. Garcia 2019
Empathy Differences between Liberals and Conservatives
Is Conservatism an Extreme form of The Male Brain?
The liberal penchant for empathy is seen in the tendency to do things like join Greenpeace to save baby seals, or to feel sadness and moral outrage when loggers saw down the forests of Amazonian Natives, basically all the stuff that makes conservatives roll their eyes and think, Run along and hug a tree or something. Or perhaps more illustrative—during the 2016 US presidential race, campaign buttons, T-shirts, and other paraphernalia were circulating among the Right, saying, “Trump for President: Fuck Your Feelings.” Research confirms these stereotypes. Studies find that liberals show more signs of distress about violence and suffering than conservatives, and tend to score higher on empathy measures with statements such as, “Other people's misfortunes do not usually disturb me a great deal,” or “When I see someone being treated unfairly, I sometimes don't feel very much pity for them” (both reverse-scored).24 By default, conservatives show relatively less distress about suffering and score lower on empathy measures.