This study examines personality factors as predictors of political attitudes and behavior among a sample of rural older Americans. Results indicate that trait variables (extraversion, openness, and neuroticism) and measures of self-concept (locus of control) affect political attitudes and behavior in predictable ways. Suggestions for future research are outlined.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
McCraeR. R. and CostaP. T.Jr., Emerging Lives, Enduring DispositionsLittle, Brown, Boston, 1984.
2.
GreensteinF. I., Personality and Politics, in Handbook of Political Science, Volume 2, GreensteinF. I. and PolsbyN. W. (eds.), Addison-Wesley, Reading, Pennsylvania, 1975.
3.
KnutsonJ. N., Personality in the Study of Politics, in Handbook of Political Psychology, KnutsonJ. N. (ed.), Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1973.
4.
StoneW. F., The Psychology of PoliticsThe Free Press, New York, 1974.
5.
GreensteinF. I., Personality and PoliticsMarkham, Chicago, 1969.
6.
McCraeR. R. and CostaP. T.Jr., Age, Personality and the Spontaneous Self-Concept, Journal of Gerontology, 46, pp. P177–P185, 1988.
7.
NormanW. T., Toward an Adequate Taxonomy of Personality Attributes, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 66, pp. 574–583, 1963.
8.
CostaP. T.Jr. and McCraeR. R., The NEO Personality Inventory, Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc., Odessa, Florida, 1985.
9.
MilbrathL. W. and GoelM. L., Political Participation, (2nd Edition), Rand-McNally, Chicago, 1977.
10.
StoneW. F., Political Psychology: A Whig History, in The Handbook of Political Behavior, LongS. L. (ed.), Plenum Press, New York, 1981.
11.
HughesA., Psychology and the Political ExperienceCambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1975.
12.
ElizabethP. and PetersonS. A., Decision Theory, Dogmatism, and Politics, paper presented at International Conference on Authoritarianism and Dogmatism, Potsdam, New York, 1984.
13.
StoneW. F., The Myth of Left-Wing Authoritarianism, Political Psychology, 2, pp. 3–19, 1980.
14.
SullivanJ. L.PieresonJ., and MarcusG. E., Political Tolerance and American DemocracyUniversity of Chicago Press, Illinois, 1982.
15.
RokeachM., The Open and Closed MindBasic Books, New York, 1960.
16.
FiskeS. T.KinderD. R., and LarterM. W., The Novice and the Expert, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 19, pp. 381–400, 1983.
17.
MussenP. and WyszinskiA. B., Personality and Political Participation, Human Relations, 5, pp. 65–82, 1952.
18.
VerbaS. and NieN. H., Participation in AmericaHarper and Row, New York, 1972.
19.
SmithM. B., A Map for the Analysis of Personality and Politics, in The Social Psychology of Political Life, KirkpatrickS. and PettitL. K. (eds.), Duxbury Press, Belmont, California, 1972.
20.
KaganJ., Perspectives on Continuity, in Constancy and Change in Human Development, BrimO.Jr. and KaganJ. (eds.), Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1980.
21.
KaganJ., The Nature of the ChildHarvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1984.
22.
CostaP. T.Jr. and McCraeR. R., Personality Stability and Its Implications for Clinical Psychology, Clinical Psychology, 6, pp. 407–423, 1986.
23.
CostaP. T.Jr. and McCraeR. R., Personality Stability and the Transitions and Changes of Adult Life, presented as APA Master Lecture, Atlanta, Georgia, 1988.
24.
CutlerN. E., Demographic, Social-Psychological, and Political Factors in the Politics of Aging, American Political Science Review, 71, pp. 1011–1025, 1977.
25.
ConwayM. M., Political Participation in the United States, (2nd Edition), Congressional Quarterly Press, Washington, D.C., 1991.
26.
PageB. I. and ShapiroR. Y., The Rational PublicThe University of Chicago Press, Illinois, 1992.