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  • © 2017

Personality and the Challenges of Democratic Governance

How Unconscious Thought Influences Political Understanding

Palgrave Macmillan

Authors:

  • Utilizes the five-factor model of personality to examine the causes and roots of civic capacity

  • Breaks new ground for scholars of political participation and applied political psychology as well as those interested in improving civic discourse

  • Examines the effects of personality traits across a range of public policy issues

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Table of contents (6 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xv
  2. Ideological Cognitive Dissonance

    • Aaron Dusso
    Pages 39-65
  3. Connecting Attitudes to Party Positions

    • Aaron Dusso
    Pages 87-107
  4. Hidden State and the Punitive Public

    • Aaron Dusso
    Pages 109-128
  5. Back Matter

    Pages 149-203

About this book

This book examines how the five-factor model of personality (also known as the Big Five)—extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability/neuroticism, and openness to experience—influence individuals’ ability to understand and engage in four areas of civic life. First, it documents how personality influences individuals when connecting abstract concepts like liberal or conservative to specific public policy preferences. Second, it demonstrates how understanding basic political facts is often conditional on these traits. Third, it tests the role that personality plays in citizens’ capacity to fulfill the basic demands that democratic governance places on them, such as connecting their own policy preferences to the correct political party. Fourth, it reveals how personality traits can blind people to the role government plays in their lives, while simultaneously causing them to vilify more visible beneficiaries of government programs. Ultimately, this book will engage both scholars and civic-minded individuals interested in understanding the hidden factors driving political behavior.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Political Science, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, USA

    Aaron Dusso

About the author

Aaron Dusso is Assistant Professor of Political Science, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, USA. Dr. Dusso is also a core faculty member with the Indiana University Center for Civic Literacy. His previous work has been published in the journals Electoral Studies, Political Behavior, Political Research Quarterly, and Social Science Quarterly. 

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access