Navigating uncertainty

IF 2.6 2区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL

Personality and Individual Differences Pub Date : 2025-09-20 DOI:10.1016/j.paid.2025.113449

Almuth Lietz , Sabrina Jasmin Mayer

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Previous studies suggest that personality traits (e.g., the Big Five) influence voting behavior for radical right parties (RRPs) indirectly via ideological variables or partisanship. We propose that tolerance for ambiguity – the ability to handle ambiguous situations – mediates the relationship between Big Five traits and ideological variables such as right-wing authoritarianism, populist attitudes, and anti-immigrant sentiment, which in turn relate to the propensity to vote for RRPs. Theoretically, we draw on the psychological entropy theory of personality, which suggests that personality reflects how individuals respond to uncertainty, to conceptualize the link between Big Five traits and tolerance for ambiguity. We assume that lower tolerance for ambiguity reflects a stronger epistemic motive – the desire for understanding, accuracy, and subjective certainty – which fosters right-wing authoritarianism, populist attitudes, and anti-immigrant sentiment. Using data from a German population sample (n = 1635, collected in 2020/21), we examine the propensity to vote for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) as an example of a radical-right party. Our findings show that lower tolerance for ambiguity is associated with stronger right-wing authoritarianism, populist attitudes, and anti-immigrant sentiment. Associations with the Big Five traits partly align with psychological entropy theory, though effect sizes are small.

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在不确定性

先前的研究表明，人格特征（如五大人格）通过意识形态变量或党派关系间接影响激进右翼政党的投票行为。我们提出，对模棱两可的容忍度——处理模棱两可情况的能力——调解了五大特征与意识形态变量（如右翼威权主义、民粹主义态度和反移民情绪）之间的关系，这些变量反过来又与投票给rrp的倾向有关。从理论上讲，我们借鉴人格的心理熵理论，该理论认为人格反映了个体对不确定性的反应，从而概念化五大特征与模糊容忍度之间的联系。我们认为，对模糊性较低的容忍度反映了一种更强的认知动机——对理解、准确性和主观确定性的渴望——这助长了右翼威权主义、民粹主义态度和反移民情绪。使用来自德国人口样本的数据（n = 1635，收集于2020/21年），我们研究了投票给德国另类选择党（AfD）的倾向，作为一个极右翼政党的例子。我们的研究结果表明，对模棱两可的容忍度较低与右翼威权主义、民粹主义态度和反移民情绪的增强有关。与五大特征的关联部分符合心理熵理论，尽管效应量很小。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Personality and Individual Differences PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL-

CiteScore

8.50

自引率

4.70%

发文量

577

审稿时长

41 days

期刊介绍： Personality and Individual Differences is devoted to the publication of articles (experimental, theoretical, review) which aim to integrate as far as possible the major factors of personality with empirical paradigms from experimental, physiological, animal, clinical, educational, criminological or industrial psychology or to seek an explanation for the causes and major determinants of individual differences in concepts derived from these disciplines. The editors are concerned with both genetic and environmental causes, and they are particularly interested in possible interaction effects.