How Do Personality Traits Influence Political Beliefs?
Have you ever wondered whether our personality traits play a significant role in shaping our political beliefs? Could it be that conservatives are more organized and reliable, while liberals are more intellectually curious and receptive to new experiences? And when it comes to sociability, empathy, or emotional stability, which side of the political spectrum tends to score higher? These intriguing questions invite us to explore the fascinating relationship between personality traits and political orientation.
In the realm of psychology, five personality traits—known as the Big Five—have been extensively studied by researchers over the decades and continue to be the most widely accepted theory of personality today (Lim, 2023; Cherry, 2019). The five traits are openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, often remembered by the acronym OCEAN. Before we delve into their correlation with political orientation, let's first describe these traits:
Openness to Experience refers to one's level of creativity, curiosity, and receptiveness to new ideas and experiences.
Conscientiousness is about how organized, dependable, and disciplined a person is.
Extroversion measures the extent to which a person is outgoing, sociable, and assertive.
Agreeableness gauges a person's level of compassion, cooperativeness, and likability.
Neuroticism (or Emotional Stability) assesses a person's tendency towards anxiety, moodiness, and overall emotional stability.
Research has shown that these five core personality traits can influence our political attitudes and behaviors (see Gerber et al. 2010 for a summary). In particular, openness to experience emerges as the trait most closely correlated with liberal ideology, while conscientiousness exhibits the strongest association with conservative ideology (Carney et al, 2008; Mondak & Halperin, 2008; Alford & Hibbing, 2007; Mondak et al., 2010).
Individuals high in openness to experience, often described as “creative, imaginative, and curious,” tend to endorse liberal social policies, which are typically characterized by the acceptance and inclusion of diverse and unconventional behaviors (Carney et al, 2008). Furthermore, their propensity for embracing novel concepts usually permeates into the economic domain, predisposing them to favor liberal economic policies that call for new government involvement in the economy (Gerber et al., 2011).
By contrast, those exhibiting a high degree of conscientiousness, typically described as “orderly and organized,” are more prone to oppose changes to societal norms that are generally associated with liberal social policies (Carney et al, 2008). Their perception of liberal economic policies as disruptive and detrimental to individual initiative may also steer them toward political conservatism (Gerber et al., 2011).
The other three traits are also linked to political orientation. For example, individuals who are more emotionally stable (or less neurotic) have been consistently observed to gravitate toward conservative economic and social policies (Mondak, 2010; Gerber et al., 2010). The desire to maintain existing structures may stem from their lower levels of anxiety and stress about their economic futures and various societal issues. Furthermore, emotionally stable individuals often perceive fewer threats or risks in their environment, making them less inclined to support liberal policies aimed at addressing perceived social or economic challenges.
The relationship between agreeableness and political orientation is less clear-cut. On the one hand, agreeable individuals are more empathetic to those in economic need and thus tend to lean liberal on economic policy (Gerber et al., 2010). On the other hand, agreeableness is found to be correlated with social conservatism (Gerber et al., 2010). This may be explained by the hypothesis that agreeable people are more inclined to “resist policies that challenge dominant social norms because they may threaten harmonious relationships” (Gerber et al., 2011).
Finally, extroversion has been shown to be weakly correlated with conservative views (Gerber et al., 2010; Carney et al., 2008; Soldz & Vaillant, 1999). For example, Gerber and colleagues find that a two-standard deviation increase in extraversion is associated with a slight decrease in self-reported liberalism (correlation of -0.08), social liberalism (correlation of -0.05), and economic liberalism (correlation of -0.14).
The reason is at least two-fold. First, extroverts are often individuals with higher levels of positive emotions and are thus less likely to view the world as a place that needs substantial social or economic reforms (Pavot et al., 1990). Second, extroverts tend to seek social interaction and enjoy being in groups, which can align with conservative values that emphasize traditional social structures and community cohesion.
The Big Five personality traits provide a fascinating lens through which to view political orientation. While it is important to remember that personality traits are just one of many factors that influence our political beliefs, understanding these relationships can provide valuable insights into why people lean toward certain political ideologies. As we continue to explore these connections, we can hope to foster greater understanding and empathy between individuals of differing political orientations.
Works Cited
Alford, J. R., & Hibbing, J. R. (2007). Personal, Interpersonal, and Political Temperaments. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 614(1), 196–212.
Carney, D. R., Jost, J. T., Gosling, S. D., & Potter, J. (2008). The secret lives of liberals and conservatives: Personality profiles, interaction styles, and the things they leave behind. Political Psychology, 29(6), 807–840.
Cherry, K. (2019). What Are the Big 5 Personality Traits? Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/the-big-five-personality-dimensions-2795422
Gerber, A., Huber, G., Doherty, D., Dowling, C., & Ha, S. (2010). Personality and Political Attitudes: Relationships across Issue Domains and Political Contexts. American Political Science Review, 104(1), 111-133.
Gerber, A., Huber, G., Doherty, D., Dowling, C. (2011). The Big Five Personality Traits in the Political Arena. Annual Review of Political Science. 14(1), 265-287.
Mondak, J. J., & Halperin, K. D. (2008). A Framework for the Study of Personality and Political Behaviour. British Journal of Political Science, 38(2), 335–362.
Mondak, J., Hibbing, M., Canache, D., Seligson, M., & Anderson, M. (2010). Personality and Civic Engagement: An Integrative Framework for the Study of Trait Effects on Political Behavior. American Political Science Review, 104(1), 85-110.
Lim, A. G. Y., & (Hons), A. G. Y. L. E. (2023). Big five personality traits: The 5-factor model of personality. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/big-five-personality.html
Pavot, W., Diener, E., Fujita, F. (1990). Happiness and Extroversion. University of Illinois.
Soldz, S., & Vaillant, G. E. (1999). The Big Five personality traits and the life course: A 45-year longitudinal study. Journal of Research in Personality, 33, 208-232.
