We vote for the person, not the policies: a systematic review on how personality traits influence voting behaviour

Western democracies’ voting practices have altered recently, most notably with candidates now taking center stage at the expense of the institutions. These events are the result of a phenomenon called the personalisation of politics. The present review aims to synthesize evidence regarding the impact of voters’ evaluation of candidates’ traits on political outcomes and the effects of voters’ traits on voting. Included studies were identified via electronic databases (up to July 2019). Reviewers extracted data respecting inclusion and exclusion criteria. Methodological quality was assessed independently by two reviewers. Data synthesis was executed through narrative processes. 288 studies were identified, 12 of which were selected for review. Four main outcomes were found: (i) Personality traits and voting behaviour; (ii) Implicit/explicit trait associations and political outcomes; (iii) Party identification and personality traits; and (iv) Ideology and personality traits. Data obtained suggests that political outcomes are heavily influenced by voters’ personality traits and how they perceive the personality traits of the candidates. This review advances the theory of personality trait matching and establishes a connection between traits and the personalization of politics.