CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | Czikora, Emese |
|---|---|
| Title | Populism and Personality: Citizens' Attitudes and Responses to Populist Rhetoric by Personality Traits |
| Summary | Populist rhetoric is often applied as a strategy to mobilize. This thesis aims to analyze whom it mobilizes the most; what are the psychological characteristics of the people most receptive to populist talk. Using an American sample consisting of nearly 700 individuals, a survey-embedded experiment was conducted to test, if there is an association between populism and personality traits. The analysis found evidence that there is a weak, negative correlation between openness and affinity to populism. Logistic models indicate that being less open to experiences increases the likeliness of having a populist attitude by 2.4%. The T-tests show inconsistent findings regarding openness, but reveal that more agreeable people react differently to political communication, than their non-agreeable fellows, however not exclusively to populist framing. The results of the statistical analyzes contradict previous findings that the level of income, education and knowledge could be associated with populism, but partially confirm the assumption that people do use their psychological traits in political decision-making. |
| Supervisor | Popescu, Marina |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/czikora_emese.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University