Longtime New York Times columnist Thomas Edsall has written a column looking at the half century of social science research showing the political conservatives are happier people than are political progressives. The findings are indeed robust.
Edsall and the social scientists he cites want to explain this difference as a result of progressives viewing many negative factors in life as caused by forces over which they have essentially no control. That is, one's beliefs that the world is not well organized and fair makes one unhappy.
Since what we're looking at here is a correlation, the famous causal arrow can point in either direction. I'd argue that unhappy people prefer to blame others for their sadness, and in doing so they become progressives.
Conservatives, on the other hand, have found ways to make the-world-as-it-is work for them. And because it does work for them, they don't want it to change overmuch. Round pegs need to find round holes in which to rest comfortably.
It doesn't take magic, just a job you like, a spouse you love, reasonable health, and a locale that feels okay to you. Presto, you're a conservative.
