PPBS

Economic System Justification [2020]

A Politico-Psychological Analysis

Report generated

March 23, 2026

1 Study Characteristics

1.1 Items: Economic System Justification

1.2 Sample

N=TBD

Sample description for the 2020 PPBS CINT study to be added.

2 Descriptives

2.1 Means, SD, Range, & SE

Table 1: Descriptives
Descriptives for Economic System Justification Items
mean sd median se
Econ_SJ1 5.51 2.33 6.00 0.05
Econ_SJ2 4.22 1.88 4.00 0.04
Econ_SJ3 4.46 2.16 5.00 0.05
Econ_SJ4 3.81 2.03 4.00 0.05
Econ_SJ5 5.69 2.22 6.00 0.05
Econ_SJ6 4.01 2.11 4.00 0.05
Econ_SJ7 4.92 2.33 5.00 0.05
Econ_SJ8 4.80 2.26 5.00 0.05
Econ_SJ9 4.85 2.10 5.00 0.05
Econ_SJ10 4.60 2.13 5.00 0.05
Econ_SJ11 5.09 2.15 5.00 0.05
Econ_SJ12 5.19 2.04 5.00 0.05
Econ_SJ13 4.51 1.98 5.00 0.04
Econ_SJ14 4.87 2.30 5.00 0.05
Econ_SJ15 3.98 2.17 4.00 0.05
Econ_SJ16 4.39 2.30 5.00 0.05
Econ_SJ17 5.05 2.18 5.00 0.05
Mean 4.70 1.06 4.88 0.02
Note:
All items: n = 2000, min = 1, max = 9. Mean: min = 1.06, max = 8.47

2.2 Response Distribution

Figure 1: Proportion of each response categories for Economic System Justification Items
Figure 2: Distribution of reponses for Economic System Justification Items

2.3 Correlations

Figure 3: Bivariate Spearman’s correlations for Economic System Justification

Note. Upper triangle shows Spearman’s rank-order correlations. *** p < .001, ** p < .01, * p < .05.

Figure 4: Bivariate Spearman’s correlations for Economic System Justification

Note. Upper triangle shows Spearman’s rank-order correlations by party identity. *** p < .001, ** p < .01, * p < .05.

Figure 5: Correlation Matrix of Economic System Justification items, Spearman’s rank correlations

3 Demographics

3.1 Social Class

Figure 6: Economic System Justification as grouped by SES
Figure 7: Raincloud Plots showing Economic System Justification grouped by Social Class

Note on the Raincloud Plots

  • Statistical summary (top): Welch’s t-test (or ANOVA) results, effect size, confidence intervals, p-values, and sample sizes are shown above each plot.
  • Bayesian analysis (bottom): Log Bayes factor and credible intervals are reported below each plot.
Table 2: Economic System Justification as grouped by SES
SES N Mean SD
Poor 154 -0.02 0.82
Lower Middle Class 405 -0.09 0.91
Middle Middle Class 786 -0.02 1.05
Upper Middle Class 655 0.09 1.03

3.2 Gender

Figure 8: Economic System Justification as grouped by Gender
Figure 9: Raincloud Plots showing Economic System Justification grouped by Gender
Table 3: Economic System Justification as grouped by Gender
Economic System Justification as grouped by Gender
Gender N Mean SD
Female 1030 -0.05 0.94
Male 970 0.06 1.06

3.3 Age

Figure 10: Economic System Justification as grouped by Age
Figure 11: Raincloud Plots showing Economic System Justification grouped by Age
Table 4: Economic System Justification as grouped by Age
Economic System Justification as grouped by Age
Age N Mean SD
18-24 years 233 -0.24 1.08
25-34 years 356 -0.16 1.04
35-44 years 335 0.04 1.01
45-54 years 331 0.01 0.97
55-64 years 332 0.19 0.99
NA 413 0.08 0.90

3.4 Education

Figure 12: Economic System Justification as grouped by Education
Figure 13: Raincloud Plots showing Economic System Justification grouped by Education
Table 5: Economic System Justification as grouped by Education
Education N Mean SD
High School or less 761 0.02 0.91
Some College 565 -0.12 1.05
Bachelor or higher 674 0.07 1.05

3.5 Income Levels

Figure 14: Economic System Justification as grouped by Income Levels
Figure 15: Raincloud Plots showing Economic System Justification grouped by Income Levels
Table 6: Economic System Justification as grouped by Income Levels
Economic System Justification as grouped by Income Levels
Income Levels N Mean SD
$35,000-$49,999 255 -0.07 1.00
$25,000-$34,999 187 -0.05 0.90
$50,000-$74,999 357 -0.05 1.12
Less than $15,000 229 0.00 0.86
$15,000-$24,999 188 0.00 0.87
$100,000-$149,999 290 0.04 1.01
$150,000 + 251 0.06 1.06
$75,000-$99,999 243 0.07 1.03

3.6 Ethnicity

Figure 16: Economic System Justification as grouped by Ethnicity

Note on the Okabe-Ito color palette. The Okabe-Ito color palette (seen above) is a set of colorblind-friendly categorical colors available in R. We are using this palette for graphs with non-ordered variables (e.g., groups, categories) for accessibility.

Figure 17: Raincloud Plots showing Economic System Justification grouped by Ethnicity
Table 7: Economic System Justification as grouped by Ethnicity
Economic System Justification as grouped by Ethnicity
Ethnicity N Mean SD
Black/African American 255 -0.33 0.95
Asian/Pacific Islander 99 -0.05 0.78
Native American 13 -0.56 1.42
Other 27 0.01 1.17
NA 1516 0.08 1.00
NA 88 -0.24 0.95
NA 2 0.59 1.29

3.7 Occupation

Figure 18: Economic System Justification as grouped by Occupation
Figure 19: Raincloud Plots showing Economic System Justification grouped by Occupation
Table 8: Economic System Justification as grouped by Occupation
Economic System Justification as grouped by Occupation
Occupation N Mean SD
Employed 994 0.06 1.03
Retired 420 0.09 0.90
Unemployed 241 -0.13 0.96
Parent 71 0.15 0.78
Disabled 114 -0.24 1.06
Student 123 -0.36 1.09
Full-time caregiver 37 -0.09 0.92

3.8 Area

Figure 20: Economic System Justification as grouped by Area
Figure 21: Raincloud Plots showing Economic System Justification grouped by Area
Table 9: Economic System Justification as grouped by Area
Economic System Justification as grouped by Area
Area N Mean SD
Urban 568 -0.15 1.02
Rural 424 0.13 0.93
NA 1008 0.03 1.01

3.9 Religious Affiliation

Figure 22: Economic System Justification as grouped by Religious Affiliation
Figure 23: Raincloud Plots showing Economic System Justification grouped by Religious Affiliation
Table 10: Economic System Justification as grouped by Religion
Economic System Justification as grouped by Religious Affiliation
Religious Affiliation N Mean SD
Catholic 468 0.15 0.84
Protestant 784 0.20 0.89
Jewish 72 0.05 1.14
Muslim 11 0.01 0.36
Atheist/Agnostic 328 -0.57 1.25
Don't know / refused 337 -0.12 0.93

3.10 Section Summary

  Economic System Justification
Predictors Estimates CI p
(Intercept) 4.26 4.07 – 4.46 <.001
Age 0.07 0.05 – 0.10 <.001
Income 0.01 -0.02 – 0.03 .537
Education -0.02 -0.08 – 0.04 .497
Gender (Male) 0.11 0.02 – 0.21 .017
Observations 2000
R2 / R2 adjusted .017 / .015

4 Political Behavior

4.1 Political Orientation

Figure 24: Political Orientation
Figure 25: Political Orientation (Controlled for Demographics)

Note. The y-axis shows residuals after regressing the outcome on demographics (Age, Income, Education, Gender). This illustrates how much the focal construct explains beyond demographic factors.

Figure 26: Correlation Matrix - Political Orientation
Table 11: Models of Political Orientation (SPRI) & Economic System Justification
  Political Orientation Social Political Orientation Economic Political Orientation
Predictors Estimates CI p Estimates CI p Estimates CI p
(Intercept) 51.70 50.59 – 52.82 <.001 50.03 48.84 – 51.23 <.001 54.38 53.25 – 55.52 <.001
Economic System Justification 16.70 15.58 – 17.81 <.001 16.87 15.67 – 18.06 <.001 18.01 16.88 – 19.14 <.001
Observations 2000 2000 2000
R2 / R2 adjusted .302 / .301 .276 / .276 .327 / .327
Table 12: Models of Ideology and Economic System Justification with Controls
  Political Orientation Social Political Orientation Economic Political Orientation
Predictors Estimates CI p Estimates CI p Estimates CI p
(Intercept) -23.54 -30.03 – -17.06 <.001 -23.86 -30.82 – -16.91 <.001 -32.37 -38.97 – -25.78 <.001
Economic System Justification 15.48 14.43 – 16.54 <.001 15.63 14.50 – 16.76 <.001 16.66 15.59 – 17.74 <.001
Age 1.58 0.91 – 2.26 <.001 1.68 0.95 – 2.40 <.001 1.48 0.79 – 2.16 <.001
Income -0.56 -1.13 – -0.00 .049 -0.70 -1.30 – -0.10 .023 0.08 -0.49 – 0.65 .777
Education -0.49 -1.99 – 1.02 .528 -2.01 -3.63 – -0.40 .015 0.46 -1.08 – 1.99 .559
Gender (Male) 0.13 -2.13 – 2.40 .907 0.96 -1.47 – 3.39 .440 1.10 -1.21 – 3.40 .350
Observations 2000 2000 2000
R2 / R2 adjusted .310 / .309 .288 / .287 .334 / .333

4.2 Partisanship

Figure 27: Party Identity
Table 13: Mean Economic System Justification by Party Identity
Mean Economic System Justification by Party Identity (raw means)
Party Identity N Mean SD
Democrat 772 4.22 1.05
Republican 657 5.31 0.78
Don't Know/Other 72 4.64 0.75
Independent/Moderate 499 4.65 1.04
Table 14: Model of Economic System Justification & Party Identity (7-point)
  Economic System Justification
Predictors Estimates CI p
(Intercept) 3.68 3.58 – 3.79 <.001
Party Identity (7-point) 0.27 0.25 – 0.30 <.001
Observations 1429
R2 / R2 adjusted .252 / .251
Table 15: Model of Economic System Justification & Party Identity with Controls
  Economic System Justification
Predictors Estimates CI p
(Intercept) 3.37 3.15 – 3.60 <.001
Party Identity (7-point) 0.27 0.24 – 0.29 <.001
Age 0.04 0.01 – 0.07 .004
Income -0.01 -0.04 – 0.01 .346
Education -0.00 -0.07 – 0.06 .967
Gender (Male) 0.15 0.05 – 0.25 .003
Observations 1429
R2 / R2 adjusted .261 / .258

4.3 Religiosity

Figure 28: Religiosity
Figure 29: Religiosity (Controlled for Demographics)

Note. The y-axis shows residuals after regressing the outcome on demographics (Age, Income, Education, Gender). This illustrates how much the focal construct explains beyond demographic factors.

Figure 30: Religiosity - Correlation Matrix

4.4 Candidate Preferences

Figure 31: Candidate Preferences
Table 16: Candidate Preferences (centered)
Candidate Preferences and Economic System Justification [centered]
Candidate Preference N Mean SD
Donald Trump 614 0.56 0.70
Bernie Sanders 326 -0.75 1.08
Joe Biden 326 -0.15 0.79
None/Not listed 217 0.05 0.78
Elizabeth Warren 86 -1.01 1.06
Hillary Clinton 78 -0.34 0.81
Pete Buttigieg 75 -0.31 0.99
Ted Cruz 46 0.87 0.75
Michael Bloomberg 43 0.04 0.74
Kamala Harris 30 -0.49 1.00
Jeb Bush 29 0.46 0.64
Mitt Romney 28 0.30 0.60
Marco Rubio 26 0.83 0.72
Rand Paul 24 0.53 1.18
Amy Klobuchar 23 -0.32 0.83
Beto O'Rourke 13 -0.47 1.00
Gary Johnson 10 0.66 0.59
Jill Stein 6 -1.05 1.41
Table 17: Candidate Preferences (raw means)
Candidate Preferences and Economic System Justification [raw means]
Candidate Preferences N Mean SD Range
Donald Trump 614 5.30 0.74 1-9
Bernie Sanders 326 3.91 1.14 1-9
Joe Biden 326 4.54 0.84 1-9
None/Not listed 217 4.76 0.83 1-9
Elizabeth Warren 86 3.64 1.12 1-9
Hillary Clinton 78 4.34 0.86 1-9
Pete Buttigieg 75 4.37 1.05 1-9
Ted Cruz 46 5.62 0.80 1-9
Michael Bloomberg 43 4.75 0.79 1-9
Kamala Harris 30 4.19 1.06 1-9
Jeb Bush 29 5.19 0.68 1-9
Mitt Romney 28 5.03 0.64 1-9
Marco Rubio 26 5.59 0.77 1-9
Rand Paul 24 5.26 1.25 1-9
Amy Klobuchar 23 4.37 0.89 1-9
Beto O'Rourke 13 4.20 1.07 1-9
Gary Johnson 10 5.41 0.62 1-9
Jill Stein 6 3.59 1.50 1-9

4.5 Party Preferences

Figure 32: Party Preferences
Table 18: Party Preferences (centered)
Party Preferences and Economic System Justification [centered]
Party Preference N Mean SD
Green Party 22 -0.85 1.02
Democrat Party 841 -0.48 1.00
None 266 -0.10 0.86
Libertarian Party 97 0.25 1.01
Republican Party 736 0.53 0.71
Tea Party 38 0.83 0.96
Table 19: Party Preferences (raw means)
Party Preferences and Economic System Justification [raw means]
Party Preferences N Mean SD Range
Green Party 22 3.80 1.08 1-9
Democrat Party 841 4.20 1.06 1-9
None 266 4.59 0.91 1-9
Libertarian Party 97 4.97 1.07 1-9
Republican Party 736 5.27 0.75 1-9
Tea Party 38 5.59 1.02 1-9

4.6 Voting Preferences

Table 20: Voting Preferences
  2020 [Trump vs. Biden]
Predictors Odds Ratios CI p
(Intercept) 9.14 4.79 – 18.00 <.001
Economic System Justification 0.99 0.86 – 1.14 .923
Observations 2000
R2 Tjur .000
Figure 33: Logistic Regression, Economic System Justification & Voting Preferences

4.7 Voting & Party Identity

Figure 34: Party Identity and Voting
Table 21: Party Identity & Voting
0 1
Don't Know/Other 47 25
Republican 36 621
Independent/Moderate 79 420
Democrat 41 731
Figure 35: Predicted, Voting & Party Identity
Table 22: Supporters
  2020 [Biden vs. Trump]
Predictors Odds Ratios CI p
(Intercept) 8.70 4.45 – 17.56 <.001
Party Identity (dichotomous) 0.92 0.66 – 1.27 .605
Economic System Justification 1.01 0.87 – 1.18 .874
Observations 2000
R2 Tjur .000

4.8 Likeability

5 Politico-Psychological correlates of Economic System Justification


5.1 Ideologies and Partisanship

Figure 36: Correlates - Ideologies and Partisanship (by magnitude)
Figure 37: Correlates - Ideologies and Partisanship (alphabetic)

5.2 Populism, Nationalism, Nativism, and Patriotism

Figure 38: Correlates - Populism, Nationalism, Nativism, and Patriotism (by magnitude)
Figure 39: Correlates - Populism, Nationalism, Nativism, and Patriotism (alphabetic)

5.3 Political Psychology

Figure 40: Correlates - Political Psychology (by magnitude)
Figure 41: Correlates - Political Psychology (alphabetic)



5.4 Positive and Negative correlates of Economic System Justification

Figure 42: Correlates - Positive associations
Figure 43: Correlates - Positive associations (alphabetic)
Figure 44: Correlates - Negative associations
Figure 45: Correlates - Negative associations (alphabetic)

6 Elastic Net Analysis

Figure 46: Elastic net predicting Economic System Justification: Political Psychology
Figure 47: Elastic net predicting Economic System Justification: Ideology & Partisanship
Figure 48: Elastic net predicting Economic System Justification: Demographics
Figure 49: Elastic net predicting Economic System Justification: Attitudes
Figure 50: Elastic net predicting Economic System Justification: Everything
Table 23: Elastic Net Summary
Elastic Net R² for predicting Economic System Justification
Variable Group # Predictors R²
Political Psychology 3 .590
Ideology & Partisanship 5 .355
Demographics 5 .025
Attitudes 3 .440
Everything 16 .622
PPBS
Psychology of Political Behavior Studies PI: Flavio Azevedo