An Examination of Populist Attitudes With Social Values and the Motivational Differences Between Right-Wingers and Left-Wingers

Abstract

Populism continues to become commonplace, not just among politicians and political parties, but also among individuals. The prevalence of populist attitudes may have soared because of economic and social issues like the outsourcing of jobs and the influx of immigrants, as well as the perceived injustice against ordinary people. Populism, as a psychological construct, is a relatively nascent research area. The present study contributes to this literature by examining the link between values and populist attitudes, noting the motivational differences between right-wingers and left-wingers with a U.S. student sample. An online survey was conducted, and regression results revealed that populist attitudes were associated with openness to change, self-enhancement and self-transcendence. Moreover, conservation amplified the link between populist attitudes and right-wing identification whereas openness to change increased the relationship between populist attitudes and left-wing identification. The discussion focuses on the value priorities of populism broadly as well as the moderating effects of values in the endorsement of populist attitudes for right-wingers and left-wingers, respectively.