Personalizing politics and realizing democracy

441 Pages·2017·2.87 MB·English

by  Michele, Caprara, Gian Vittorio, Vecchione

ecna v dA esiarp �rof Personalizing Politics
and Realizing Democracy
This book is a masterful exposition of the infuential role of personality factors
in political behavior, providing unparalleled breadth and depth of analysis of
intrapersonal determinants of democratic life in society.
—A lbert Bandura, David Starr Jordan Professor Emeritus of Social
Science in Psychology, Stanford University
At this precarious time throughout the world where totalitarian regimes are once
again gaining support among the masses, we all need to understand the essential
human dimensions of democracy as its vital counterpoint. Authors Caprara and
Vecchione present a uniquely brilliant analysis of their decades of research on
the interplay of personalities of leaders and their followers, as well as their path
outlined for democracy to be realized and succeed.
—P hilip Zimbardo, author of The Lucifer Effect: 
Understanding How Good People Turn Evil
Caprara and Vecchione’s book is a magnifcent contribution to political psychology.
It demonstrates that ethics is a foundational part of politics and democracy. Self-
refective and morally conscious citizens play a crucial role in shaping healthy
politics and well-functioning democracy. One should not underestimate the
citizen’s moral development and civic education in catalyzing social change.
—Laszlo Zsolnai, Professor and Director, Business Ethics Center,
Corvinus University of Budapest and President,
European SPES Institute, Leuven
This is an insightful contribution to the complex interplay between the various
factors that account for how we relate to politics. Personalizing Politics and Realizing
Democracy makes concepts understandable, providing sound evidence for the material
presented. As people in many parts of the world express growing disenchantment
with political processes, corruption, and the widening gap between themselves and
those who govern them, this timely volume should improve our understanding of
the political choices that we make.
—S aths Cooper, President of the International Union of Psychological
Science, and Professor, University of Limpopo
This is an insightful examination of the moral foundations of political action! From
an impressive array of perspectives from genetics through philosophy to every
branch of psychology, Personalizing Politics and Realizing Democracy dissects the
psychological underpinnings of democracy. It identifes the key role of personality
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The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
nai G o i r o t t i Va r a r p a C d n a ee ln e o h i c h i c M c e e v a V h n e t t i r w a y l e m i t d n a g n i d n a t s t u o
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ci t a r c o m e d sl a e d i dn a le u f la c i t i l o p .s n g i a p, m a c y l t n e u q e s n o C si h t ko o b si a - t s u m
da e r to n yl n o ro f st n e d u t s dn a ,s r a l o h c s tu b os l a ro f ru o la c i t i l o p sr e d a e l sa l e w sa
ew “ e h t — ” e l p o e p s r e t o v d n a - n o n s r e t o v . e k i l a s A e h t s r o h t u a , e z i s a h p m e s i h t s i r u o
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—J ames F. Leckman, Neison Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry,
Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology, Yale University
The r is no ne e d fo r po l i t i c s to “b e c o m e moe r pe r s o n a l i z e d , ” as th e au t h o r s
o u t l i n e in th e i r in to r d u c t o r y st a t e m e n t , to at t r i b u t e to pe r s o n a l i t y th e hi g h e s t
l e v e l of im p o r t a n c e fo r th e st u d y of th e fu n c t i o n i n g of po l i t i c a l en t i t i e s an d th e
u n d e r p i n n i n g of po l i t i c a l b.e ha v i o r T h o r u g h o u t , his t o r y t r a i t s , ne e d s , no r m s ,
v a l u e s , a n d b e l i e f s o f a c t o r s a t a l l l e v e l s o f t h e p o l i t i c a l po r c e s s h a v e b e e n p i v o t a l i n
s h a p i n g t h e i r p o l i t i c a l b e h a v i o r a n d i t s o u t c o m e s . C a p r a r a a n d e c c h i o n e V s h o w i n
t h e i r s e m i n a l w o r k i n w h i c h w a y s a n d t o w h a t e x t e n t t h i s a l s o a p p l i e s t o m o d e r n
d e m o c r a c i e s . o T c o v e r th e i r su b j e c t th e y ad de r s s a wi d e ra n g e of fu n d a m e n t a l
q u e s t i o n s fo r m t h e a n t h o r p o l o g i c a l b a s e s o f p o l i t i c a l b e h a v i o r t o t h e d y n a m i c s o f
p o l i t i c a l c h a n g e . I n th e i r a p po r a c h , w h i c h i s ba s e d o n a �r m en d o r s e m e n t o f th e
p r i n c i p l e s of pa r t i c i p a t o r y , de m o c r a c y t h e y br i d g e th e ga p be t w e e n bi o l o g i c a l
a n d s o c i a l s c i e n c e s . T h e y s h o w t h a t t h e a p p o r a c h e s a n d � n d i n g s o f n e uo r s c i e n c e s
c a n b e co m p a t i b l e w i t h a vi e w t h a t s e e s t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f de m o c r a c y a n d t h a t
o f ci t i z e n s as erc i p o r c a l l y co n d i t i o n a l . Ba s e d on a co m pe r h e n s i v e st u d y of th e
e rc e n t l i t e r a t u e r ( a si g n i � c a n t p a r t o f wh i c h h a s b e e n c o n t r i b u t e d b y th e a u t h o r s
t h e m s e l v e s ) , t h i s w o r k o f C a p r a r a a n d e c c h i o n e V h o l d s t h e po rs p e c t o f b e c o m i n g
a le a d i n g erf e e r n c e bo o k in th e �e l d of po l i t i c a l ps y c h o l o g y fo r sc h o l a r s an d
w i d e r c ic r l e s o f po l i t i c a l l y i n t e e r s t e d era d e r s � a l i k e .
—H einrich Best, Senior Professor of Sociology, University of Jena,
and Director of the Research Committee of Political Elites of IPSA
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Series Editor
John T. Jost
Editorial Board
Mahzarin Banaji, Gian Vittorio Caprara, Christopher Federico, Don Green,
John Hibbing, Jon Krosnick, Arie Kruglanski, Kathleen McGraw, David Sears,
Jim Sidanius, Phil Tetlock, Tom Tyler
Image Bite Politics: News and the Visual Framing of Elections
Maria E. Grabe and Erik P. Bucy
Social and Psychological Bases of Ideology and System Justifcation
John T. Jost, Aaron C. Kay, and Hulda Thorisdottir
The Political Psychology of Democratic Citizenship
Eugene Borgida, Christopher M. Federico, and John L. Sullivan
On Behalf of Others: The Psychology of Care in a Global World
Sarah Scuzzarello, Catarina Kinnvall, and Kristen Renwick Monroe
The Obamas and a (Post) Racial America?
Gregory S. Parks and Matthew W. Hughey
Ideology, Psychology, and Law
Jon Hanson
Representing Red and Blue: How the Culture Wars Change the Way Citizens Speak
and Politicians Listen
David C. Barker and Christopher Jan Carman
On Voter Competence
Paul Goren
The Ambivalent Partisan: How Critical Loyalty Promotes Democracy
Howard G. Lavine, Christopher D. Johnston, and Marco M. Steenbergen
The Impacts of Lasting Occupation: Lessons from Israeli Society
Daniel Bar- Tal and Izhak Schnell
Competing Motives in the Partisan Mind: How Loyalty and Responsiveness Shape
Party Identifcation and Democracy
Eric W. Groenendyk
Personalizing Politics and Realizing Democracy
Gian Vittorio Caprara and Michele Vecchione
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dna gnizilaeR ycarcomeD
Gian Vittorio Caprara
Michele Vecchione
1
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Preface  ix

Acknowledgments  xiii

1 Personality and Politics in Contemporary Democracies  1

2 Personality in Politics  29

3 Moral Foundations of Political Action  73

4 Personal Determinants of Political Divisions  121

5 Diversities and Commonalities in Political Attitudes  171

6 The Private and Public Personality of Politicians  217

7 Political Participation and Effcacy  251

8 A Congruency Model of Political Behavior 309

Concluding Remarks 349

References  361

About the Authors  399

Index  401
iv
ecaferP
Few people would challenge the legitimacy of democracy as the form of gov-
ernment most congenial to the contemporary perception of citizens as refec-
tive and responsible agents. Yet a number of facts challenge these ideals and
question the extent to which the principles and procedures of representative
democracy developed in Western societies may continue to represent a global
model in the pursuit of the optimal form of government. Declining political
participation, as well as skepticism and dissatisfaction with the functioning
of democracy among citizens of established democracies, may seem at odds
with their increasing capacity to control their own circumstances within their
private, social, and economic spheres.
While competence and trustworthiness are among the qualities that
voters most appreciate in politicians, contradictory pressures challenge the
effectiveness of parties’ programs and of politicians’ promises. Indeed, all
politics has become more personalized, as political preferences are increas-
ingly dependent on the likes and dislikes of citizens and on the personality
characteristics of political candidates capable of attracting voters’ preferences.
All this directs legislators to a better appreciation of the signifcant changes
that have occurred in citizens’ political reasoning and actions, as well as of
the diversities among citizens in different political contexts. Likewise, sci-
entists are urged to investigate and reveal the psychological structures and
mechanisms that set the conditions for individuals’ democratic participation.
In this volume, we see democracy as the preferable form of governance
and argue that the development of citizens and democracy are reciprocally
conditional:  while democracy should set the ideal conditions for the full
expression of people’s talents to be achieved, citizens’ commitment to demo-
cratic institutions is decisive in maintaining and promoting democracy.
To achieve its goals, democracy requires members to respect each other
and to cooperate in the pursuit of life conditions that maximize both the
realization of individuals’ talents and the achievement of public welfare.
xi