Effect of political orientation on judgment of agency, competence, morality, and sociability: The French presidential election of 2012

Abstract

This study tested the effect of voter’s political orientation on the importance they placed on agency, competence, morality, and sociability as qualities required for being President of the French Republic. It furthermore assessed the participants’ judgments of the five main candidates of the French Presidential Election of 2012 on those dimensions. The results showed that, compared to left-wing voters, right-wing voters placed greater importance on agency and less importance on morality and sociability as qualities required for being president. Right-wing voters differentiated between candidates with respect to agency more than competence, whereas the reverse pattern was observed for left-wing voters. Voters differentiated between candidates with respect to morality as much as sociability. Finally, the participants’ ratings of candidates showed a partisan effect: Left-wing voters rated left-wing candidates as being more competent, moral, and sociable, the same being true of right-wing candidates by right-wing voters. Ratings of candidates’ agentic qualities were less dependent on the voter’s political orientation. These data provide support for how people perceived qualities necessary for being President in France.