UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 9
October 31, 1996
Personality-voting link focus of prof's research

     Voting behavior is, in part, a function of some measure of
psychological identification between the electorate and the
political candidate," according to Gordon DiRenzo, sociology.
     Since 1964, DiRenzo has been conducting a longitudinal study
on the relationship between voters' personality characteristics
and the public personalities of candidates during presidential
elections.
     According to his research, the personality link between
voters and their candidates of choice can play an important role
in an election.
     Voters tend to vote for those whose public personalities are
compatible with their own, DiRenzo said. For example, while some
voters are attracted to authoritarian, dogmatic candidates who
tend to be conservative, others prefer nondogmatic, more open-
minded candidates.
     "Research has shown that many voters choose certain
candidates on the basis of their perceived personalities. These
may not be their true personalities but their public personas.
For example, in 1972 Republican nominee Richard Nixon came across
as an authoritarian, dogmatic and close-minded individual. In
contrast, Humphrey seemed nondogmatic and nonauthoritarian,"
DiRenzo said.
     In the 1972 election, many voters crossed party lines to
vote for candidates based on their own personalities and their
perceived personalities of Humphrey and Nixon, DiRenzo said.
     In some presidential elections, there are not any
significant differences in the projected personalities of the
candidates, such as the Carter/Ford, Mondale/Reagan races. In
these cases, the hypothesis cannot be as clearly supported,
DiRenzo said.
     This year, DiRenzo said he feels the projected personalities
of President Bill Clinton and Bob Dole present a strong contrast.
However, the emergence once again of Ross Perot as a candidate
adds another dimension to the race. The personality relationship
between Perot and the electorate will be part of DiRenzo's study
of the 1996 election, which he and his students began in late
October.
     There are other factors in an election beside the
candidate's public personality, DiRenzo said. Social and economic
issues influence an election. Class, gender, religion, race,
ethnicity and political ideology also may affect voting
decisions, but research has shown that the personality factor can
cross all these lines and influence voters' choices, DiRenzo
said.
     During presidential election years, DiRenzo teaches a course
on "Personality and Politics." Part of the course involves
student research on the election. A sampling involves voters from
all walks of life who are given a personality test and asked to
chose a candidate as part of the extensive study. A panel of
expert referees analyzes the public personality of the
candidates. The results are then compared.
     Where there is a clear-cut choice in candidates'
personalities, voters who are conservative, dislike change and
feel comfortable with an authoritarian, dogmatic figure generally
vote for a candidate demonstrating these qualities. Those who are
nondogmatic, more tolerant of change and flexible in their
thinking tend to select the opposite type of candidate.
     DiRenzo's research has shown that older voters in
particular, and an increasing number of student and women voters,
do not like change. They prefer order and structure and tend to
vote for more dogmatic candidates.
     The effect of personality compatibility on the election,
however, depends upon the nature and distribution of the
personality types among the electorate, he said.
     In his earlier research in the 1960s, with a grant from the
Italian Ministry of Education, DiRenzo carried out research on
the personality types who are more likely to become professional
politicians- i.e. those who are self-selected, full-time and
elected rather than appointed. Among Italian politicians, DiRenzo
found a dominance of authoritarian personalities and studies of
the state legislatures in Indiana and Michigan yielded similar
results.
     DiRenzo is the author of Personality, Power and Politics,
which examines Italian politics, and Personality and Politics, a
study of American politics.
                                              -Sue Swyers Moncure