U.S. election fever is running hotter than ever, and the presidential candidates are busy making big promises, hoping to convince voters that their approach is best.

Each side is selling a vision of a happier, brighter future. Which raises the question: Is one ideology or another more likely to make people happy? And if so, should that translate into how people vote?

“You can see why political types would be interested in this question,” said UC Irvine’s Peter Ditto, “because they want to make the inference that their ideology is the road to happiness.”

Earlier research into the question has found a consistent pattern: conservatives as a whole report being happier than liberals do.

“It’s an interesting phenomenon that’s called the ‘Ideological Happiness Gap,’ that’s shown up in many different studies,” said Ditto.

But before you assume that means conservatives actually are happier – hold on.

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