Segnalazione bibliografica. Autori: Brad Verhulst, Lindon J. Eaves, Peter K. Hatemi American Journal of Political Science 56(1), 34-51 (January 2012) Abstract The assumption in the personality and politics literature is that a person's personality motivates them to develop certain political attitudes later in life. This assumption is founded on the simple correlation between the two constructs and the observation that personality traits are genetically influenced and develop in infancy, whereas political preferences develop later in life. Work in psychology, behavioral genetics, and recently political science, however, has demonstrated that political preferences also develop in childhood and are equally influenced by genetic factors. These findings cast...

The 2012 municipal election in Palermo produced an unexpected outcome. In the Sicilian city - for a long time a conservative stronghold - the center-right candidate, Massimo Costa did not succeed to reach the second ballot and the election was won by the former Major Leoluca Orlando, supported by a radical left coalition. Orlando prevailed with a sensational 72% of the vote share against the winner of the center-left primary elections, Fabrizio Ferrandelli. What happened in the 2012 Palermo municipal election? Does the Sicilian capital moved suddenly toward the left? Which factors fostered this sharp and unpredictable electoral change that altered the long-time-established political landscape of the City? To answer these questions, the article analyzes the results of the 2012 municipal election in Palermo through an electoral geography approach and the use of a quantitative methodology with ecological data. In particular, the article makes use of both the territorial study of turnout and election results and the voting ecological estimates generated with the traditional Goodman model. The empirical analysis shows that this election was strongly influenced by factors linked to the local context more than by authentically political ones. In other words, Palermo did not move toward the left. Moreover, the internal electoral segmentation of the City between central and peripheral neighborhoods persisted as the main determinant of the vote choice.

Segnalazione bibliografica. Journal of Political Research (May 2011), Vol. 50: pp. 395–417 Autori: Andrè Blais, Simon Labbè St-Vincent Abstract This article examines the link between personality traits, political attitudes and the propensity to vote in elections, using an Internet panel survey conducted in two Canadian provinces at the time of the 2008 federal election and the subsequent provincial elections. It first establishes that the two most proximate attitudes that shape one's propensity to vote are political interest and sense of civic duty. The article then look at specific personality traits (altruism, shyness, efficacy and conflict avoidance) that could affect level of political interest, civic...