Psychology Commons^™

'Cause You've Got Personality: Understanding The Impact Of Personality On Political Participation, Aaron C. Weinschenk

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I ask why some people participate more intensely in political life than others, a classic question in political science. Previous answers have focused on socioeconomic status, demographics, socialization, political context, attitudes, and resources. To date, very little political science research has acknowledged that individual personality traits may play a role in determining political behaviors. I argue that there is good reason to believe that individual personality traits influence individual participatory habits in the political realm. In short, what I am suggesting is that some people have natural predispositions toward participating (or not participating) in politics and civic …