Search

This paper offers an explanation of the link between grandiose narcissism and support for radical right parties. Drawing on representative data of the GESIS Panel (N = 2827), focusing on support for the German radical right populist party Alternative for Germany in 2016 and treating grandiose narcissism as a two‐dimensional concept, it is shown that the effects of grandiose narcissism are indirect rather than direct. The paper also reveals that it is mainly narcissistic rivalry that accounts for radical right party support, whereas narcissistic admiration has a protecting relationship. Finally, our results indicate that the indirect effects of narcissistic rivalry on radical right party support via right‐wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation, respectively, are mediated by anti‐immigrant sentiment. All in all, our results suggest that in studies on ideological orientations and voting behaviour, both dimensions of grandiose narcissism should be considered due to their contradictory relationship. Moreover, our findings indicate that the success of radical right parties might be the expression of personality dispositions of some parts of the electorate. © 2020 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology

In this study, we examine the role of social trust as an individual and a neighborhood-level determinant for radical right-wing populist party preferences. We argue that high social trust decreases radical right-wing populist party preferences and that this relationship is essentially mediated by negative attitudes toward immigrants. Using data from the Netherlands' Life Course Study, we employ multilevel structural equation modeling to test our argument on support for the Party for Freedom (PVV). The results reveal that individual social trust decreases radical right-wing populist party preferences. Beyond the micro-level relationship, we find that neighborhood social trust decreases radical right-wing populist party preferences. In either case, the effects are mediated by anti-immigrant sentiments. Our findings provide evidence for the importance of social trust as a multilevel construct in explanations for radical right-wing populist party preferences.

This study investigates how personality relates to citizens' willingness to extend political, social, and cultural rights for minorities, including voting rights for immigrants, religious rights for Muslims, and affirmative action measures. Moving beyond explanations centred on intergroup relations, we argue that political efficacy (i.e. beliefs about personal political competences and the responsiveness of political elites) operates as a mechanism linking personality and policy preferences on minority rights. We test these arguments using mediation models on data from a large-N survey conducted in Germany in 2016. Results show that high openness, high agreeableness, and low conscientiousness predict permissive views on minority rights. In addition to indirect effects via group-specific attitudes, we find empirical support for substantial links via political efficacy. In particular, people high in conscientiousness or high in neuroticism have lower faith in government responsiveness, which in turn is related to less willingness to approve minority rights.

This study investigates how personality relates to citizens' willingness to extend political, social, and cultural rights for minorities, including voting rights for immigrants, religious rights for Muslims, and affirmative action measures. Moving beyond explanations centred on intergroup relations, we argue that political efficacy (i.e. beliefs about personal political competences and the responsiveness of political elites) operates as a mechanism linking personality and policy preferences on minority rights. We test these arguments using mediation models on data from a large-N survey conducted in Germany in 2016. Results show that high openness, high agreeableness, and low conscientiousness predict permissive views on minority rights. In addition to indirect effects via group-specific attitudes, we find empirical support for substantial links via political efficacy. In particular, people high in conscientiousness or high in neuroticism have lower faith in government responsiveness, which in turn is related to less willingness to approve minority rights.