Study: Conservatives have more self-control than liberals

Research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that conservative political leanings are correlated with a higher degree of self-control. The paper's authors worked with 300 people, observing that participants' levels of self-control were better predicted by how conservative or liberal they were rather than other demographic indicators, like wealth, race, or sex.

Lead researcher Joshua Clarkson of the University of Cincinnati disavowed any notion that the study's authors intended to make a value judgment about people of different political beliefs. "We've got liberals, conservatives, libertarians, and people who aren't sure [on the research team]," he said. "We are not saying that conservatives are better in general. We just think this study gives us a novel way to think about self-control."

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