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The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
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Personality and Emotional Response: Strategic and Tactical Responses to Changing Political Circumstances

Jennifer Wolak

University of Colorado at Boulder

George E. Marcus

Williams College

Emotions enable people to navigate various political environments, differentiating familiar situations where standard operating procedures are suitable from unfamiliar terrain when more attention is needed. While previous research identifies consequences of emotion, we know less about what triggers affective response. In this article, the authors investigate what role personality has in the operation of the systems of affective intelligence. Using experimental data as well as responses from the 2000 and 2004 American National Election Studies, the authors first consider whether personality affects the activation of emotional response. Next, they explore the degree to which citizen attitudes like openness to information and compromise are explained by personality characteristics and subconscious emotional response. Finally, they consider the implications of these results for our normative understanding of democratic citizenship.

Key Words: personality traits • emotional response • political involvement • citizen attitudes • anxiety

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The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 614, No. 1, 172-195 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0002716207306086
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This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
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Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wolak, J.
Right arrow Articles by Marcus, G. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?