Ideology-specific patterns of moral indifference predict intentions not to vote

Using Moral Foundations to Predict Voting Behavior: Regression Models from the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election

“…It has been shown that liberals are more likely to donate money to charities whose mission statements emphasize individualizing moral concerns, whereas conservatives are more likely to donate money to charities whose mission statements emphasize binding concerns (Winterich et al, 2012). In addition, liberals who more strongly endorse the individualizing foundations report greater intentions to engage in voting behavior rather than abstaining from it, whereas the same is true for conservatives who more strongly endorse the binding foundations (Johnson et al, 2014).…”

“…The predictive ability of moral foundations has also been extended to political contexts. Moral foundations endorsements were shown to predict favorability ratings for candidates in the 2008 Democratic Presidential primaries (Iyer, Graham, Koleva, Ditto, & Haidt, ) and intentions to abstain from voting (Johnson et al., ).…”

Political psychology

“…Individuals who participate in other social communities (e.g., voluntary associations, community affairs, and church congregations) are significantly more likely to be politically active . Conversely, feeling unrepresented by one's political candidates and mismatches between one's own moral concerns and those most associated with one's ideological group lead to decreased intention to participate in the political process.…”

The Social Psychology of the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election: An Introduction

“…In four studies that apply moral foundations theory to the study of political engagement, Johnson et al () find that only moral values (e.g., benevolence and universalism) are associated with the intention to vote; nonmoral values (e.g., achievement and hedonism) are not. Furthermore, this association is dependent upon a match between specific moral values and those associated with the beliefs of one's ideological community: Among liberals, voting is associated with moral foundations of care and fairness, while among conservatives, the intention to vote is associated with these values as well as loyalty, authority, and sanctity.…”

“…Finally, among libertarians, a shift can be seen prior to the 2012 elections, in which values of care and fairness become increasingly irrelevant. As the authors note, this shift reflects the rise of the influence of the Tea Party, and, with it, a rejection of “compassionate conservatism” (Johnson et al., , p. 11).…”