Category: Psychopathology

very clear. Conservatives are much happier than Liberals. It’s science.

Conservatives are more likely than liberals to be religious, patriotic and married, all of which are conducive to happiness. But even when these factors are accounted for, there is a residual happiness advantage among conservatives.

And that makes TOTAL sense to me as a psychologist. And I think it has to do with what we call locus of control.

Conservatism in general focuses on an internal locus of control. YOU are responsible, both for your successes and your failures. if you succeed, it is because of YOU. YOU are the master of your fate. You don’t need some hero on a white horse to come save you! YOU got this. You can make things better.

OTOH, Leftism focuses on external locus of control. It tells you that you are being kept down solely because someone else is taking advantage of you. You know, “The Man.” What you do doesn’t really matter all that much, because you are driven by forces beyond your control. You need some hero on a white horse to come save you and balance the playing field!

Guess which approach leads to more happiness?

Democrats seem to have this overarching sense of, “I’m righteous and entitled, so screw you!” It really is quite marked. THAT is why the Democrat base had such a huge hissy fit over losing the government shut down standoff. They just feel in their bones (or the deep recesses of their psyche) that they deserve to win every standoff. Every. Single. Time. So it’s not “just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes,” it is a dastardly affront that must be avenged!

They always feel persecuted and mistreated if they don’t get everything they want. Every single thing and every single time. And that means it is problematic for anyone negotiating with them. I mean, look how they react to losing to Donald Trump!

It just is not normal, people. This a diaper-filling, breath-holding tantrum!

Because compromise actually means that you don’t get everything you want. And they cannot manage that at all! They want it all. And they never think that they might get nothing, instead. But their negotiating stance ensures that they either get all they want or nothing. And then they are offended and feel mistreated if it is nothing and gloat incessantly if it IS everything. Not a pleasant bunch to work with…

The Democrat base’s reaction to ending the shutdown exposes the absurdity of the position Democrats have taken for the last six weeks, that the shutdown is somehow the Republicans’ fault, even though every Republican voted, repeatedly, to keep the government functioning. The Democrats’ theory (although never articulated as such) was that Democrats are entitled to get their way, always and everywhere, even when they are in the minority. 

… The Democrats’ base voters hate the fact that the government will re-open, SNAP benefits will be paid, and so on. I have no idea how voters outside the Democrats’ hard core will react to the end of the shutdown, but one would hope that some, at least, finally understand the indefensible game the Democrats have been playing.

Pretty much.

Oh, and that’s NOT just name-calling. The scientific data bear this out. It’s pretty tough to be strong and happy when you have an external locus of control, as is inherent in Leftism itself.

A person who is strong and happy virtually always has an internal locus of control!

Here’s an example: Two people–identical twins–BOTH have stage 4 pancreatic cancer. As with almost all pancreatic cancer, the outlook is pretty grim in terms of survival.

Twin A is, understandably, very angry about it. He blames the water supply and just bad luck. Those %&^&* fat corporate cats dumped something in the water that gave him cancer. He says the chemo just makes him sick, and he is bitter and tired of it all. He wonders why all these bad things have happened to HIM. And given these bad things that have happened to him, OF COURSE he is not happy. Who could be happy about that? Don’t be a stupid Pollyanna!

Indeed, he is grumpy all the time. He believes that he is merely a human pool ball that moves in the direction he was hit. He has pancreatic cancer, and there’s not a dang thing anyone can do about it. His wife and kids can hardly stand to be around him, he is so grumpy. Oh, they understand, but he is not pleasant to be around. And when they pull away, that that just makes him even more angry.

Twin B also has pancreatic cancer. He has the very same prognosis. He also thinks that this was likely caused by some dumping of chemicals in the water supply, and of course he is not pleased about that.

But, while he has his bad moments, he is genuinely grateful in general. He is kind to his wife and family, and they have rallied around him. He knows that there are a lot of things that he can do to be happy, notwithstanding his chronic and terminal condition (which he agrees is a total bummer). He knows there are many things that he can do to make the best of the limited time he has left.

Now who do you think is happier? Twin A has an external locus of control. Twin B has an internal locus of control. And that makes all the difference.

that will be SURE to fix everything in a jiffy!

Can you say, “Pathological Entitlement?” This lady is a TOTAL nightmare!

are often psychologically a bit off kilter. Or more than a bit… The actual diagnostic rates make that VERY clear. That ain’t name-calling, it’s just the truth.

So why? We need a reasonable explanation for this.

If I am going to be serious, I will say that is tightly bound to “locus of control (LOC).” When LOC is internal, one believes that one has a BIG influence on events, that skill, competence, and hard work are the keys. And YOU have something to say on these issues. Yes, there is “luck,” but that is a relatively minor issue, and being competent gives you the ability to take advantage of random events.

Leftism, OTOH, has an LOC that is mainly external. You are merely a pool ball that travels in the direction you were hit, and there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s “the man.” It is virtually ALL luck and nepotism, and actual competence has little to do with it.

Not surprisingly, an internal LOC is highly correlated with high functioning and mental health, while an external LOC is highly correlated with depression and being inert–and being a Democrat, unsurprisingly.

Think I’m making things up? Look at this:

The researchers found that women who have abortions are more than twice as likely to end up hospitalized for psychiatric problems compared to women who carry their pregnancies to term. This isn’t some fringe finding; it’s based on a massive study tracking over 1.2 million pregnancies for up to 17 years. The numbers don’t lie: for every 10,000 person-years, 104 women who aborted ended up hospitalized for serious mental health issues like psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, and suicide attempts, while only 42 women who gave birth faced the same fate.

The only quibble I would have with the article is that I think that the abortion thing is only a symptom. The underlying, fundamental issue is locus of control.