Liberals as Cultural Omnivores
Abstract
We hypothesized that (a) political liberals would be more likely than conservatives to be “cultural omnivores” (i.e., to engage in a broader range of activities, experiences, and consumer products) and (b) the effect of ideology on cultural engagement would be explained, in part, by psychological differences in openness to new experiences. To investigate these hypotheses, we analyzed survey data from the 2016 National Consumer Survey based on more than 20,000 US respondents. Results confirmed that, even after adjusting for the effects of age, income, and regional differences in population density, liberalism was positively associated with the total number of cultural exposures across a wide range of domains, including movies, TV shows, live performances, music, magazines, websites, hobbies, and beer brands. The effect of ideology on cultural engagement was statistically mediated by openness. Implications of ideological asymmetry in politicultural sorting are discussed in terms of informational advantages associated with the structure and functions of liberal and conservative social networks.
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Because of greater openness to new experiences and more diverse social networks, individuals who embrace liberal ideology are more familiar with and knowledgeable about the cultural activities of out-group members than are individuals who embrace conservative ideology.
“These results imply that, because of greater openness to new experiences217,230 and more diverse social networks207,228, individuals who embrace liberal ideology are more familiar with and knowledgeable about the cultural activities of out-group members than are individuals who embrace conservative ideology.”
From Cognitive–motivational mechanisms of political polarization in social-communicative contexts (2022) · cites this paper as [217]
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- Authors
- Rogers, N., & Jost, J. T.
- Venue
- Journal of the Association for Consumer Research
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- Published
- 2022-07-01
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 255-265
- ISSN
- 2378-1815 (ISSN-L)
- 2378-1823
- OpenAlex
- W4214817889
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3
- FWCI
- 2.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of the Association for Consumer Research (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
- Keywords
- political ideology, liberalism, conservatism, cultural omnivores, cultural participation, openness to experience, social networks, consumer behavior, hobbies, media use
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