Personality and Preferences for Territorial Scales

Abstract How do personality traits shape public preferences for territorial governance? While scholars have paid increasing attention to public preferences for multilevel governance, most studies focus on political ideology, trust, or identity—overlooking personality as a potential driver. This paper fills that gap by drawing on 2020–2021 survey data from Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Switzerland, and the United States to examine attitudes toward the distribution of authority across nine policy areas. Our findings reveal that three of the Big Five personality traits are significantly associated with governance preferences: individuals high in conscientiousness tend to favor centralization; those high in agreeableness prefer shared decision-making between levels of government; and individuals high in neuroticism are more likely to support stronger regional authority. These results contribute to the literature on public opinion and territorial politics by highlighting personality as a distinct and systematic influence on attitudes toward federal and multilevel governance arrangements.