Does what politicians are like personally influence how much they're liked by the public? This study investigates whether legislators' personality traits affect voter approval. Using surveys of nearly 1000 voters across several states, along with detailed profiles of state legislators’ personalities.
Researchers found that specific personality characteristics — openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness — correlated strongly with how much voters approved of their elected officials. Legislators perceived as more open-minded or empathetic received significantly higher approval ratings than those viewed as rigid or disagreeable.
These findings suggest a crucial shift: voter preferences may be influenced not just by policy positions but also by personal traits like personality style.
| What I Like About You: Legislator Personality and Legislator Approval was authored by Adam J. Ramey, Gary E. Jr. Hollibaugh and Jonathan D. Klingler. It was published by Springer in Pol. Behav. in 2019. |
