The Influences Of Personality In American Politics

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Today in American politics, partisan antipathy has significantly risen. According to Pew Research Republicans who have an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party has climbed from 17% to 43% in the last 20 years. Similarly, with Democrats, their unfavorable opinion of Republicans has more than doubled from 16% to 38%. The founding fathers warned the American people on multiple occasions about the dangers of a divided nation. In the early 19th century the American President, Abraham Lincoln, said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”. That said, it can easily be understood why the American people must unite and understand their differences better. To understand a person’s ideology, it must be understood what causes a person to think …show more content…
Like all human behavior, political behavior is influenced by many factors. Some are external, such as the surrounding family and friends, current political system, occurrence of an economic downturn, and the ruling class such as powerful media corporations and politicians. With the external factors in mind, most individuals would assume that personalities are best conceived as personal character rather than external forces bestowed on an individual. To completely understand how personality affects political ideology, one must understand both personality and what influences personality. Personality can be defined as the multifaceted and enduring internal, or psychological, structure that influences patterns of behavior (Mondak, 2010). To further explain the definition, individuals are not assigned their personalities; it is who they are. Also, it cannot me measured directly. Personality is measured indirectly with outside information about the general patterns assumed to be related to different components of personality. Lastly, it is crucial to understand that personality is highly heritable. Meaning much of the variety in personality is rooted in biology (e.g., Riemann, Angleitner, & Strelau, …show more content…
It refers to curiosity about the world, ambition to learn about opposing perspectives, and to try new activities. Individuals scoring high in openness are characterized as being creative, analytical, and imaginative. Individuals possessing this trait tend to be well-informed (Mondak, 2010). However, these individuals often show to being willing to take risk, such as experimenting with drugs and alcohol. (Booth-Kewley & Vickers, 1994)
Conscientiousness is a trait dimension that is prevalent in individuals that tend to be organized, punctual, hardworking, and industrious. These individuals strive to do what is right. People high in conscientiousness mostly live healthy lifestyles, and avoid personal risk (Booth- Kewley & Vickers, 1994) Extraversion is the personality trait dimension found in individuals that are very social. They are bold, outgoing, and talkative. (e.g., Barrick & Mount,
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