What Kind of People Are Republicans?

Summary

The article challenges widespread Democratic misconceptions about the personal, informed, and compassionate nature of Republican voters by presenting research showing that these personal characteristics do not significantly differ across party lines.

Abstract

The piece argues that Democratic perceptions of Republicans as being less intelligent, knowledgeable, and compassionate are incorrect, citing scientific studies that depict Republicans and Democrats as equals in these respects. According to the General Social Survey data, Republicans scored slightly higher in cognitive ability but this difference became negligible after controlling for social factors. Similar levels of civic knowledge between the two parties were demonstrated, suggesting that claims in knowledge gaps are due more to partisanship biases than factual ignorance. Furthermore, evidence indicates that the compassion shown towards the less fortunate is also comparably distributed, although political implications may diverge. The article suggests that understanding these similarities is crucial for Democrats in better engaging with their Republican counterparts, as individuals' actions can be attributed more to external situations rather than character flaws, thus mitigating the so-called "Fundamental Attribution Error".

Opinions

Misconceptions among Democrats about Republicans can be detrimental to engagement and understanding, as they rely on inaccurate stereotypes of character rather than nuanced situations and upbringing.
Intelligence disparities are more complex than usually perceived and disappear when considering demographic variables, indicating no innate superiority in cognitive abilities between parties.
Democratic affiliation is not a determining factor for either political knowledge or compassion, refuting partisan assumptions held by some progressives.
Democrats must recognize and confront their own bias, known as the Fundamental Attribution Error, to engage constructively with Republican voters and beliefs.
The tendency of partisan-motivated responses rather than genuine differences in knowledge reinforces the idea that Democrats should seek to engage with Republicans instead of dismissing them.
Political differences should be discussed in a more informed context where external influences such as family or community are recognized as potential catal of one’s political perspective.

People a lot like you.

Original image by the author

“I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” — Abraham Lincoln

I’ve found one of the biggest barriers for Democrats when trying to engage with and persuade voters across the aisle is misperceptions about who Republicans are. We think the average Republican voter is very different from us when they’re really very similar to us by most measures.

For now, let’s just focus on personal characteristics because our misperceptions in this arena are so pervasive and pernicious.

Ask any Democrat to describe “Republicans” and they’re likely to say they’re less intelligent, less knowledgeable, and less compassionate than “our side.” But what does the research show?

First, when it comes to intelligence, most studies find that contrary to our liberal expectations, Republicans have slightly higher cognitive ability than Democrats. For example, Noah Carl found that Republicans on average scored higher than Democrats on three measures of intelligence from the U.S. General Social Survey: a test of probability knowledge (1–3 IQ points), a test of verbal reasoning (2–4 IQ points), and an assessment by the interviewer of how well the respondent understood the survey questions (2–3 IQ points). But don’t worry–subsequent research by Yoav Ganzach has shown the IQ difference disappears when controlling for socioeconomic status and race, meaning we’re just as smart as our Republican peers.

As for political knowledge, studies have consistently found Democrats and Republicans roughly equivalent in knowledge of civics and contemporary political facts. On a short quiz assessing Americans’ basic understanding of concepts like the electoral college, First Amendment, and the filibuster, Democrats and Republicans performed equally well. Likewise, while partisan beliefs around factual topics like the trajectory of economic growth or the size of the deficit may differ, political scientists Carolyn E. Roush and Gaurav Sood have shown these gaps are “more an artifact of ‘partisan cheerleading’…or motivated guessing than a reflection of genuine differences in knowledge.” For example, when partisans are given a monetary incentive to provide correct answers, their knowledge scores improve significantly, suggesting that their responses have more to do with their partisan motivation than their understanding of reality.

Finally, on the question of compassion, while both Democrats and Republicans believe liberals are more caring, research by Meridith Taylor Long shows that conservatives are just as responsive to others in need in the abstract. For example, when asked whether 1) People should be willing to help others who are less fortunate; and 2) These days people need to look after themselves and not overly worry about others, both Republicans and Democrats express roughly equal levels of compassion. If you find that hard to believe, it may be because though they’re equally compassionate in general, compassion is less likely to predict policy preferences among Republicans than Democrats.

Now that you’ve (hopefully) adjusted your perceptions a bit, let’s discuss why you were wrong in the first place. We can usually blame the Fundamental Attribution Error, an information-processing bias that all people have–Democrats and Republicans alike. The FAE is a tendency to attribute another’s actions to their character or personality rather than external situational factors. So, when someone does something we don’t approve of–like support Trump–our immediate explanation is it has something to do with them as a person. We dismiss them as stupid, ignorant, or heartless, rather than understand them and their beliefs in the context of external factors, such as being raised by Republican parents in a Republican community.

So next time you find yourself disagreeing in a conversation with a Republican and are tempted to dismiss them as “just a bad person,” remember, they’re probably not that different from you.

What Kind of People Are Republicans?

People a lot like you.

About the Author