Is Politics Downstream from Personality? The Five Factor Model’s Effect on Political Orientation in Sweden

Sammanfattning: Differences in political orientation are partly rooted in personality, with left-wing political attitudes being predicted by Openness to Experience and right-wing attitudes by Conscientiousness. This has been validated across numerous studies from different countries. This essay adds to that body of research by examining whether personality differences between the political sides also exist in the so far understudied Nordic country of Sweden. It finds evidence for the Big Five domains significantly predicting left-right self-placement, albeit with a modest effect. Specifically, the study showed Swedes further to the political right to be lower in Openness, higher in Conscientiousness, and also lower in Neuroticism. These findings concur with existing research and thereby contribute to broadening the understanding of personality’s relation to political attitudes.