Journal of Electoral Studies

Issues

Home Issues Backissues Volume 31, No.1 Personality Traits and Partisan Affect Difference

Personality Traits and Partisan Affect Difference

Tsong-Jyi Ling and Yi-Ching Hsiao
2021 / 11
Volume 28, No.2

pp.1-46
10.6612/tjes.202111_28(2).0001
Paper

Abstract

This study applies partisan affect as an indicator to understand the political cleavage in Taiwan. The main purpose is to examine whether personality traits exert significant effects on shaping partisan affect. By means of telephone interviews, the research team successfully collected 1,601 samples. Hypotheses raised by this study focus on the direct and the moderating effects of personality traits on partisan affect. According to empirical evidence, conscientiousness exerts a positive and direct effect on partisan affect. Stronger conscientiousness leads to a larger difference of partisan affect. In addition, the moderating effects of three personality traits are demonstrated. Both conscientiousness and extroversion benefit the influence of party identification on partisan affect. In contrast, agreeableness reduces the effect of party identification on partisan affect.

Keywords

personality traits

partisan affect

partisan strength

moderating effect