Abstract
Understanding the psychological basis of individuals' voting intentions is of tremendous importance because voting for specific parties and politicians can influence political developments. In the present study associations of individuals’ satisfaction of each of Maslow’s five basic need categories with voting intentions were investigated in a German sample and these results were compared to results on associations between personality and voting intentions. An online survey was completed by N = 2593 (n = 1035 men) individuals. Participants provided information on socio-demographic characteristics, filled in the Need Satisfaction Inventory, the Big Five Inventory, and stated which of the major German parties they would vote for if general elections were held the following Sunday. Data were analyzed using the statistical software R and RStudio. Among others, it was found that higher satisfaction of physiological needs and higher satisfaction of safety and security needs were associated with intentions to vote for the currently governing party alliance, the CDU/CSU, versus for the right-wing AfD. Regarding personality, among others Openness was positively associated with intentions to vote for nearly every party (except the CDU/CSU) versus for the AfD. Effect sizes of associations were overall rather small; generally speaking, those related to the Need Satisfaction Inventory were even slightly smaller than those found for personality traits. The present results indicate that other factors aside from needs and personality must be considered to understand voting. Therefore, this study sets a starting point for further investigations to replicate and expand the present findings.
Highlights
Previous research in the field of political psychology has among others investigated individual differences, for example in stable personality traits, and how they relate to political ideologies and party preferences (Krieger et al, 2019; Vecchione et al, 2011)
To close this research gap, we investigated associations between satisfaction of each of the basic need categories according to Maslow and current voting intentions in a German sample
N = 212 (8.2%) individuals stated that they would vote for DIE LINKE, n = 192 (7.4%) for the SPD, n = 1173 (45.2%) for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, n = 170 (6.6%) for the FDP, n = 343 (13.2%) for the CDU/CSU, n = 88 (3.4%) for the AfD, and n = 280 (10.8%) for other parties
Summary
Previous research in the field of political psychology has among others investigated individual differences, for example in stable personality traits, and how they relate to political ideologies and party preferences (Krieger et al, 2019; Vecchione et al, 2011). Effect sizes of these associations are usually rather small and next to differences in stable personality traits, researchers emphasize the importance of individual values and needs in political contexts (Inglehart, 1971). Maslow’s theory presents basic needs which are probably related to voting preferences beyond personality according to theory and research This assumption is supported by i) links found between dissatisfaction and voting for right-wing parties (Bayerischer Rundfunk (2018) as cited in Statista 2020; Dilling, 2018; Nier, 2017), ii) associations between perceived threat and voting preferences (e.g., Goerres et al, 2018), iii) and the theory by Ronald Inglehart (1971, 2015) (a more elaborate discussion of these points can be found in paragraph Theoretical Background and Literature). To close this research gap, we investigated associations between satisfaction of each of the basic need categories according to Maslow and current voting intentions in a German sample
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
