This story in the Pacific Standard covers an empirical investigation of political conservatism, self-control, and free will. Political conservatism is usually associated in the U.S. with the Republican Party, and is contrasted with liberalism (which is associated with the Democratic Party). Free will is the belief that humans are responsible for our own actions. Self-control is the ability to defer immediate impulses and temptations, often to focus on long-term goals. Resisting cookies or ice cream requires self-control, as does resisting the urge to roll your eyes at a difficult person, or choosing to study rather than be distracted by a website or video game.
According to the story, correlational research has already established that conservatives endorse a belief in free will more than liberals do. And past research has also established that people who believe in free will have more self-control. So the researchers tested all three of these concepts together in a single study:
…the study authors had participants complete a version of the Stroop test—a tricky task commonly used to evaluate psychological capabilities—in which the researchers presented the test takers with colored words on background colors that mismatched the words (for example, the word "blue" on a yellow background). The participants had to identify the color described by the word without getting distracted by the background color, and the speed with which they were able to do so gave researchers an idea of how well the participants could maintain focus on the task. The team also assessed the participants’ belief in free will and political ideology. As expected, the study found that, as conservatism increased, so too did belief in free will, and, consequently, measures of self-control improved.
a) What are the three variables in the study described above? For each variable, indicate the possible levels, and state whether each variable is measured or manipulated.
b) The authors are quoted giving the following interpretation of their findings: he interpretation above fits the description of a mediator (Chapter 9). Sketch a diagram of this mediator, using arrows to connect the three variables (use Figure 9.11 as a model).
“[It] could be that conservatives believe they have greater control over their performance and thus expend greater self-control in their academic pursuits,” the study authors write.
Finally, the authors suggest an application of these findings, as follows:
These findings offer a new lens through which to view previous research that found differences between conservatives and liberals—say, the fact that conservative college students tend to get better grades than their liberal counterparts.
c) What other real-world behaviors might be related to self-control? Could you design a study to test correlational hypotheses about political beliefs and these self-control related behaviors?