Examining the Personality Correlates of Attitudes Towards People Who Have Sexually Offended and Related Policies

Although personality reliably predicts political beliefs, few—if any—studies have examined the relationship between the Big Six traits and attitudes toward people who have sexually offended. We address this oversight by examining the personality correlates of attitudes towards the rehabilitation of people who have sexually offended and support for two related policies: a three-strikes law and a public registry of persons convicted of sex crimes. Results from a nationwide random sample of adults (N = 40,769) reveal that Openness to Experience correlates positively, but Conscientiousness correlates negatively, with attitudes supportive of rehabilitation. Relationships between other Big Six traits and covariates are also discussed, as are the implications for increasing public support for rehabilitation policies. We thus provide the first large scale examination of the personality correlates of attitudes toward people who have sexually offended and related policies. These results demonstrate that extra-legal factors including personality impact policy support and reveal the need to frame policy options in ways that resonate with people’s personality.