Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al-Arida to Al Mayadeen: We were deprived of all means of communication, and we were isolated from the other detainees so as not to receive any piece of information
Freed prisoner and leader of Operation Freedom Tunnel, Mahmoud al-Arida, to Al Mayadeen: Were it not for the pro-Resistance media, the situation of the isolated detainees would have been catastrophic
Iranian Foreign Ministry: The sanctions reinstated by the E3 are non-binding, and we deem them illegal
Iranian Foreign Ministry: Iran, Russia, and China will send a letter to the United Nations and the Security Council tomorrow confirming the expiration of Resolution 2231 and the end of sanctions
Local Afghan sources: Pakistani airstrikes hit the Arghun district of Paktika province, southeastern Afghanistan, after the ceasefire expired
Hamad to Al Mayadeen: We will return the bodies and abide by the agreement we approved, but what is happening now is an attempt by "Israel" to exert more pressure
Hamad to Al Mayadeen: The issue of the [Israeli] bodies is complex and requires time, especially since the occupation changed the features of Gaza, which we explained to the mediators
Hamad to Al Mayadeen: The occupation has been unable to achieve its objectives in the Gaza Strip, so we are not surprised that it is employing the barbaric way
Hamas Political Bureau member Ghazi Hamad to Al Mayadeen: "Israel" threatens with force, which is not a strange thing for it. For our part, we are committed to the agreement that "Israel" violates daily
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli drone strikes vehicle in Khirbet Selem, one martyr reported.

Study: Republicans adjust moral beliefs to be more aligned with Trump

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: PsyPost
  • 1 Feb 2022 23:11
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

The findings of a political psychology study suggest that people, particularly Republicans, revise their moral foundations to align with their favorite political candidate - in the case of 2016, that was Trump.

  • x
  • Study: Republicans adjust moral beliefs to be more aligned with Trump
    In 2016: Republicans and Democrats were at a heated match in the US elections. 

When one prefers a political candidate, 'moral inconsistencies' between the person and the candidate are resolved and patched up to create a sense of alignment with the candidate itself. 

A study published in Political Psychology, a scientific journal, examines how voters - Republicans and Democrats - revise their perceptions of political candidates and leaders to align with their moral beliefs. 

The study also took into account the elections in 2016, which found that Republicans - but not Democrats - revised their moral beliefs to reduce inconsistency with candidate Donald Trump. 

“A lot of work in political science research shows how voters are often ‘followers,’ adjusting their views on issues to match the messages they get from their party’s leaders. We wanted to see if that pattern extended to moral beliefs as well, as morality is usually assumed to be more stable and thus exerting a causal influence on political preferences such as candidate choice,” explained William Kidd and Joseph A. Vitriol, the authors of the study. 

The study was conducted by analyzing data from the 2016 US elections.

“You could see this assumption play out in the 2016 campaign, where both the media and the Clinton campaign treated Republican votes as ‘gettable’ due to differences between the typical Republican positions on moral issues and what positions Trump held. However, we expected voters would be motivated to resolve those differences in some way (either adjusting their own views or how they viewed the candidates) in order to justify their original decision of which candidate to support.”

This study was conducted by analyzing data from the 2016 US elections. The study recruited 3,557 US citizens as their attitudes in July, September, October, and November 2016 were measured. It was done on 4 waves. 

In the first wave of the study, voters' moral foundations were obtained and measured. 

In the second wave, participants were randomly assigned to report how they perceive Clinton or Trump's moral foundations (depending on the group they were assigned to). 

In the third wave, both measures of moral foundations were repeated. 

In the fourth wave, voters' choices of candidates were taken.

“Political leadership is moral leadership,” the researchers told PsyPost

The results showed that participants projected their moral foundations on their favored candidate: self-reported moral foundations acted as predictors for perceptions of Trump's moral foundations in wave two, and this was also observed among participants oriented towards Clinton.

Trump supporters appear to incline their moral beliefs to achieve further proximity with Trump's moral foundations (as perceived). Perceptions of Trump during the second wave altered how supporters perceived their own moral beliefs at the third. 

However, this trend was not found among Clinton supporters.

“Political leadership is moral leadership,” the researchers told PsyPost. “Many voters revise even their fundamental views of what they describe as right and wrong based on their perceptions of the candidates they support. Ideas and positions that might have seemed out of bounds can become normalized very quickly if they receive support from political leaders.”

“That voters adjust their ‘perceptions’ of the candidates is also likely a reason partisan conflict often seems so intractable, as voters from each party may not even share a common understanding of the candidates in question, limiting any form of reasoned debate.”

“It’s hard to determine if the differences we find between Clinton and Trump supporters are due to differences between Democrats and Republicans more broadly or if the results reflect unique qualities of those particular candidates,” Kidd and Vitriol explained. “We’ve found evidence in our follow-up work in the 2020 election for both possibilities, with Biden supporters seeming to show a bit more congruence in self-candidate moral beliefs than Clinton supporters did but still less than Trump supporters show.”

  • political psychology
  • Psychology
  • Joe Biden
  • Donald Trump

Most Read

Iran strikes secret Israeli-US bunker under Tel Aviv high-rise

Tel Aviv high-rise struck by Iran hid Site 81, secret US-Israeli base

  • Politics
  • 14 Oct 2025
Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jaafarawi in an undated image in Gaza, occupied Palestine (Social media)

Gaza Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jafarawi killed by collaborators

  • Politics
  • 12 Oct 2025
drop site

New report details extensive Israeli arson in Gaza after ceasefire

  • Politics
  • 13 Oct 2025
Illustration of fists breaking shackles, representing the liberation of Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons. (Illustrated by: AL Mayadeen English/Batoul Chamas)

4 prominent Palestinian detainees to be freed: Who are they?

  • Palestine
  • 13 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
The bodies of deceased Palestinians, held by Israel during the war, lie in plastic bags on the floor of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, following their release, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025 (AP)
Politics

'Israel' returns 30 Palestinian bodies; some bear marks of torture

Gaza buried under 70 million tons of war debris as crisis deepens
Politics

Gaza buried under 70 million tons of debris, 20,000 lingering UXOs

Ex-White House adviser Ashley Tellis charged over secret files
Politics

Ex-White House advisor accused of amassing troves of top secret files

An Israeli soldier rests by a mobile artillery unit at a gathering point on the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern “Israel”, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP)
Politics

Global arms bans isolate 'Israel', yet its war machine keeps running

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS