Political ideology is a “set of beliefs about the proper order of society and how it can be achieved” (Erikson and Tedin 2003, 64). An abundance of research finds that ideology varies on a left (liberal)–right (conservative) dimension (Bobbio 1996; for a review, see Jost, Federica, and Napier 2009). Liberals tend to support progressive change and egalitarianism, while conservatives support stability and find hierarchy acceptable. Consequently, ideology relates to desired behavioral options and outcomes during social decision making, with liberals preferring more egalitarian outcomes and conservatives accepting more unequal outcomes.
Political ideology may relate to cooperation via concerns about equality. Desire for equality (inequality aversion) can promote a willingness to cooperate with others (Fehr and Schmidt 1999; Van Lange 1999). Given that concern for equality is one of the defining features of liberal ideologies (Wetherell, Brandt, and Reyna 2013), liberals might be more motivated to sacrifice their own self-interest to establish equal and mutually beneficial outcomes in social interactions. Additionally, since conservative ideologies are associated with individualism and self-reliance (Feldman 1988; Sheldon and Nichols 2009), and these values promote individual concerns over collective concerns (e.g., Feldman and Zaller 1992), we expect that conservatives, compared to liberals, will be less concerned about others’ outcomes (in general) and so less willing to cooperate.
" …
Political ideology is a “set of beliefs about the proper order of society and how it can be achieved” (Erikson and Tedin 2003, 64). An abundance of research finds that ideology varies on a left (liberal)–right (conservative) dimension (Bobbio 1996; for a review, see Jost, Federica, and Napier 2009). Liberals tend to support progressive change and egalitarianism, while conservatives support stability and find hierarchy acceptable. Consequently, ideology relates to desired behavioral options and outcomes during social decision making, with liberals preferring more egalitarian outcomes and conservatives accepting more unequal outcomes.
Political ideology may relate to cooperation via concerns about equality. Desire for equality (inequality aversion) can promote a willingness to cooperate with others (Fehr and Schmidt 1999; Van Lange 1999). Given that concern for equality is one of the defining features of liberal ideologies (Wetherell, Brandt, and Reyna 2013), liberals might be more motivated to sacrifice their own self-interest to establish equal and mutually beneficial outcomes in social interactions. Additionally, since conservative ideologies are associated with individualism and self-reliance (Feldman 1988; Sheldon and Nichols 2009), and these values promote individual concerns over collective concerns (e.g., Feldman and Zaller 1992), we expect that conservatives, compared to liberals, will be less concerned about others’ outcomes (in general) and so less willing to cooperate.
…"
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0022002716658694