Trait openness and agreeableness are related to a left-leaning political orientation but are negatively related to the endorsement of totalitarian ideals
Although relationships between temperament and political orientation are well established [1-2], it is unclear whether they are moderated by opinions on how we should execute our political ambitions, with or without regard to individual liberty. We examined whether prior relationships between personality and political orientation are replicated using a short-form measure of the Big Five, and whether the extent of these relationships differ when including the endorsement of totalitarian ideals in the same model. We also examined whether self-reported dominance was related to the endorsement of totalitarian ideals, which may develop recent theorizing on the role of agentic personality traits in alliance politics and leadership emergence. [1] Gerber et al. (2010). Am Political Sci Rev, 104, 111-133. [2] Hirsh et al. (2010). Pers Soc Psychol Bull, 36, 655-664 [3] Watkins (2018). In Facial Displays of Leaders (Chapter). [4] van Vugt & Grabo (2015). Curr Dir Psychol Sci, 24, 484-489. [5] Judge & Bono (2000). J Appl Psychol, 85, 751-765
