My paper, co-authored with Claes de Vreese, addressing the association between personality and EU attitudes is accepted for publication in European Union Politics.  Click here to read the paper (click here for the Online Appendix and the Repliciation Folder).

Abstract

We still do not fully understand why attitudes towards the European Union (EU) differ among citizens. In this study, we turn to the Big Five personality traits Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism as antecedents of EU attitudes. Based on a national survey, we focus on attitudes towards widening and deepening of the EU, trust in EU institutions, identification with the EU, and negative affect experienced towards the EU. The nature of the EU attitude is expected to condition the strength and direction of the association of a particular EU attitude with a personality trait. The Big Five traits are indeed predictors of some but not all EU attitudes and will shape how citizens’ respond to changes in the institutional set-up of the EU.