Jonathan Haight has done foundational work on how libs and conservatives think differently. From ChatGPT:
Jonathan Haidt’s Moral Foundations Theory proposes that human morality is built upon six innate and evolved psychological foundations that guide moral judgments across cultures. These foundations are Care/Harm, Fairness/Cheating, Loyalty/Betrayal, Authority/Subversion, Sanctity/Degradation, and Liberty/Oppression. Each foundation evolved to solve specific social challenges faced by early humans, such as protecting vulnerable offspring (Care/Harm), detecting free-riders in cooperative groups (Fairness/Cheating), and maintaining group cohesion through loyalty and respect for authority. Haidt describes these foundations as analogous to “taste buds” for morality, explaining that individuals and cultures prioritize them differently, which underlies political and ideological divides. For example, liberals tend to emphasize Care and Fairness more heavily, while conservatives generally value all six foundations more equally, which helps explain why liberals may struggle to understand conservative moral concerns.
Jordan Peterson addressed this question often as well. Haight was a frequent guest on his podcast.
Peterson often used the OCEAN measure of personality traits:
- openness (O) measures creativity, curiosity, and willingness to entertain new ideas.
- conscientiousness (C) measures self-control, diligence, and attention to detail..
- extraversion (E) measures boldness, energy, and social interactivity..
- agreeableness (A) measures kindness, helpfulness, and willingness to cooperate..
- neuroticism (N) measures depression, irritability, and moodiness.
These categories are not moral judgements - being "open" and "not open" both have advantages and disadvantages.
The modern artist, for example, may be high in "openness" which might stimulate creativity, but they may also lack conscientiousness, which could make them difficult to manage money or live long-term with partners.