Politics

Are political views shaped by personality traits? – BBC News

Published

4 years ago

February 1, 2021

Where do our political beliefs come from? There is increasing evidence that an important part of the answer is deep-rooted within our nature.

It seems that we are predisposed to have certain personality traits and, ultimately, certain political tastes.

Psychologists normally measure your personality by asking questions about your approach to life.

The measures are known as the ‘Big Five’: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

These are neither good nor bad, but simply aspects of who you are.

For example, someone scoring high in conscientiousness will tend to be more organised than the average person, but also more inflexible. Scores on these different traits predict lots of things about us: from healthy eating to marital stability.

It is perhaps not surprising that the Big Five also correlate with people’s political views. Jeff Mondak, political science professor at the University of Illinois, says that people who score high in openness and low in conscientiousness are more likely to be left wing.

He argues that “openness equates with the willingness to try new things. And that includes new policies. Conscientiousness often signals a very strong sense of personal responsibility: it would be viewed as our own job, not the government’s job, to take care of us.”

‘Darker’ personality traits

These may not be the only personality traits which shape our politics, however. There is also the ‘Dark Triad’: Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy.

The most important one of these for political behaviour is narcissism. This is not just about admiring your reflection and attention seeking, but also a sense of importance and entitlement.

Two key components of narcissism – exhibitionism and a sense of entitlement – correlate with our political views. Entitlement is associated with more right-wing positions and exhibitionism with more left-wing positions.

And narcissists are also generally more likely to get involved in politics.

Julie Blais, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University, says: “People with narcissistic traits are much more likely to engage. It’s a way of getting attention and make themselves appear better than other people.”

What shapes our personality?

Personality differences appear to be related to our political views and our political participation. But where do these differences come from?

If you take the British population today, about half the variation in personality traits appears to be genetically inherited.

That doesn’t mean that there is a single gene which decides our personality.

Nor is it a specific part of the brain.

Kevin Mitchell, an associate professor of genetics and neuroscience at Trinity College, Dublin, says that personality traits are “manifestations of how the brain is put together – there aren’t little bits of the brain doing one job or another.”

Are we predisposed to our political views?

Does this all mean that our political views are also partly biological?

Like personality, political ideology is genetically heritable to some extent and one explanation for this is that innate personality traits, like the Big Five or narcissism, cause political attitudes.

However, some argue that there is actually something deeper in our biology that directly links to our politics.

Maybe it is very basic preferences, perhaps related to risk or threat avoidance, from humanity’s evolutionary past which inform our modern day political preferences.

Rose McDermott, professor of political science and international relations at Brown University, says: “The specific issue, whether it’s taxes or welfare, can change over time and from country to country. But the underlying issues remain: How do we decide who gets what within our community; how do we decide who’s allowed into our community; how do we decide who we’re going to fight against?”

These core differences continue to exist because there was never an evolutionary ‘right answer’ to those questions in the past, she says.

“When something is so much better than every all every other alternative it converges to universality. So why have we not converged universally on ideology? Because we need both. You need liberals for cooperation, but you also need conservatives because you have to defend those co-operators.”

A bit more understanding?

Of course, there are some important caveats to the idea that biology equals ideology.

First off, these are simply tendencies. My genetic make-up does not determine my personality or my political views; it just influences them. Second, this is about people’s attitudes, not their votes. There is no biological imperative to support party X over party Y.

Nonetheless, we should probably take seriously the idea that our political attitudes are partially due to our personality or other innate tendencies that we cannot do much about.

And, perhaps ironically, this might be helpful in reducing one of the bugbears of the modern age: political polarisation.

Polarisation is all about ‘us’ versus ‘them’.

Maybe one way of countering that is to accept that ‘they’ just have different preferences to ‘us’. This is not because ‘they’ are stupid, brainwashed or ignorant, just that ‘we’ are different to ‘them’.

As Kevin Mitchell says: “Conflict usually arises because people’s goals differ with each other and the things that they value in a given situation differ. And at some level, part of those differences come from our biology.”

James Tilley is a Professor of Politics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. He presents ‘Personality Politics’ on BBC Radio 4 at 20:30 GMT on Monday 1 February 2021.

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Politics

‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Politics

Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Politics

Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

Published

2 days ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

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