The stability of structure and profiles of perceived personality traits of polish politicians

  • Oleg Gorbaniuk Faculty of Social Sciences, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
Keywords: lexical approach; social perception; image; politicians; personality assessments; personality descriptors; factor analysis; election campaign

Abstract

The main objective of the study was to analyze the stability of the basic dimensions of personality, with regard to perception of Polish politicians. The two-stage research was conducted within the stream of the trait theory, using the material obtained from Polish lexical research extended by the adjectives specific for politicians. 390 people before the election campaign and 557 people at the end of the election campaign were describing 24 politicians, who were randomly combined in 6 sets, 4 politicians in each, using an adjectives check list. The principal component analysis allowed extracting four common dimensions of the politicians’ perceived personalities: Competence (Intellect+Conscientiousness), Extraversion (Openness+Energy), Impulsiveness /Non-agreeableness and Honesty. The factor structure of perceived personality traits was stable. The results of research are discussed in light of previous studies.

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Published
2019-03-28
Section
Articles