Locus of Hope as a Predictor of Political Engagement

Abstract Despite extensive literature on political participation, little is known about the role of motivational psychology. This study examines whether Locus of Hope (LoH), a personality characteristic that captures individual differences in strategies for goal attainment, is a predictor of political engagement. LoH theory considers both individual variations on self-assessed efficacy for goal attainment (high versus low efficacy) and whether efficacy is characterized by an internal (self-actualized) or external (inter-reliant) sense of agency. Using a novel measure of political goals, we examine the relationship between LoH and political engagement with a demographically representative sample of 784 Canadians. LoH and goal attainment were found to predict political engagement over and above measures of political efficacy and interest. The findings open new avenues of research that can help us better understand why and how some people engage in politics.