Motivational underpinnings of support for radical political leaders

StatusPost-Print
Dublin Core metadata
Alternative title
Authors
Grzymala-Moszczynska, Joanna
Maj, Marta
Szastok, Marta
Kruglanski, Arie
Jasko, Katarzyna
Monograph
Monograph (alternative title)
Date
2024-12-13
Publisher
Journal title
European Journal of Social Psychology
Issue
7
Volume
54
Pages
Pages
1476-1488
DOI
ISSN
0046-2772
ISSN of series
Weblink
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.3090
Access date
2025-08-21
Abstract PL
Abstract EN
The present research examined the idea that followers are more strongly motivated by radical as opposed to moderate political leaders. We derived this idea from the significance quest theory that posits that a desire to feel important and meaningful is one of the fundamental human motives (Kruglanski et al., 2018, 2022). We expected that voters would be more willing to support political actors when they perceived them as radical as opposed to moderate, because the goals of those radical actors would be more personally important for voters. Consequently, supporters would experience a greater sense of personal significance from supporting such goals, which would motivate them to get engaged on behalf of their candidates. In five studies (N = 2,154), including two pre-registered replications, spanning two U.S. presidential elections (2016, 2020) and Polish parliamentary elections (2023), we found support for our predictions. The results showed that as followers perceived their candidates as more radical, they viewed the leaders' goals as more personally important, experienced a greater sense of personal significance, and expressed a higher willingness to make sacrifices for the candidates. These results contribute to the understanding of the appeal of radical political actors.
Abstract other
Keywords PL
Keywords EN
radical leaders
political extremism
activism
elections
Keywords other
Exhibition title
Place of exhibition (institution)
Exhibition curator
URI
https://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/1026
Type
License type
embargo
This item has an embargo and currently is unavailable
Funder
Time range from
Time range to
Contact person name
Related publication
Related publication
Grant/project name
Psychologiczne mechanizmy solidarności z grupami nieuprzywilejowanymi
Od apatii do przemocowego ekstremizmu: Motywacyjne podstawy zaangażowania politycznego
Files
docx
Motivational underpinnings of support for radical political leaders (AAM).docx(18.4 MB)
Download
Views
Views23
Acquisition Date5.02.2025
Downloads
Downloads5
Acquisition Date5.02.2025
Altmetrics©
Dimensions
Google Scholar
Google Scholar