Is there a populist personality? Populist attitudes, personality, and voter preference in Australian public opinion

Journal article


Kenny, Paul and Bizumic, Boris. (2023). Is there a populist personality? Populist attitudes, personality, and voter preference in Australian public opinion. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties. pp. 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2023.2243587
AuthorsKenny, Paul and Bizumic, Boris
Abstract

This paper investigates whether personality affects support for populist parties either directly or indirectly through “populist attitudes.” It theorizes that populist attitudes should be disambiguated into their component facets and that the attitudinal components of populism are best understood as loosely related characteristic adaptations, which mediate the relationship between personality and vote choice. Using data from a nationally representative survey of 2200 Australians fielded prior to the general election in 2019, the paper demonstrates that the three attitudinal components of populism (People-centrism, Anti-elitism, and a Manichean outlook) are weakly associated with one another and distinctively connected with underlying personality traits. Our results indicate that populist attitudes are better conceptualized as a cluster of weakly related psychological tendencies rather than as a coherent worldview or personality. Mediation analysis indicates that personality traits affect support for populist parties both directly and indirectly through the attitudinal components of populism.

Year2023
JournalJournal of Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties
Journal citationpp. 1-26
PublisherRoutledge
ISSN1745-7289
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2023.2243587
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85167690781
Page range1-26
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusIn press
Publication dates
Online10 Aug 2023
Publication process dates
Accepted13 Jun 2023
Deposited08 Nov 2023
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https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8zy78/is-there-a-populist-personality-populist-attitudes-personality-and-voter-preference-in-australian-public-opinion

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