TY - JOUR
T1 - Political Discontent in China Is Associated with Isolating Personality Traits
AU - Truex, Rory
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Southern Political Science Association. All rights reserved.
PY - 2022/10
Y1 - 2022/10
N2 - Our personalities affect how we understand the political world, but research to date has focused almost exclusively on democratic contexts. How is personality related to political attitudes and behavior in authoritarian systems? Three original surveys of Chinese citizens (Nstudy1 p 2,024, Nstudy2 p 3,573, Nstudy3 p 1,986) show that discontented citizens in contemporary China are more fearful, disagreeable, and introverted, lacking close emotional attachments to others. Conversely, Chinese Communist Party members show high levels of extraversion and other traits associated with personal and professional success. These findings suggest a social element to regime support. China’s most dissatisfied citizens operate at the fringes of society, which may contribute to the durability of authoritarian rule in the country.
AB - Our personalities affect how we understand the political world, but research to date has focused almost exclusively on democratic contexts. How is personality related to political attitudes and behavior in authoritarian systems? Three original surveys of Chinese citizens (Nstudy1 p 2,024, Nstudy2 p 3,573, Nstudy3 p 1,986) show that discontented citizens in contemporary China are more fearful, disagreeable, and introverted, lacking close emotional attachments to others. Conversely, Chinese Communist Party members show high levels of extraversion and other traits associated with personal and professional success. These findings suggest a social element to regime support. China’s most dissatisfied citizens operate at the fringes of society, which may contribute to the durability of authoritarian rule in the country.
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U2 - 10.1086/719273
DO - 10.1086/719273
M3 - Article
SN - 0022-3816
VL - 84
SP - 2172
EP - 2187
JO - Journal of Politics
JF - Journal of Politics
IS - 4
ER -