Citizens in democratic countries have more benevolent traits, fewer malevolent traits, and greater well-being

Citizens in democratic countries have more benevolent traits, fewer malevolent traits, and greater well-being

Research suggests that the degree of democracy in countries is correlated with certain characteristics of its citizens. A question is whether different types of government (e.g., autocratic vs. democratic) are associated with specific personality dispositions and the well-being of citizens. We addressed this question with a sample of over 200,000 persons from 75 countries. Using structural equation modeling and a strong measurement invariance ap…

Dark personalities more prevalent in less democratic countries, massive study shows

A new study published in Scientific Reports suggests that the type of government a person lives under may be linked to their personality and overall well-being. People residing in more democratic countries reported higher levels of benevolent “light triad” traits, such as kindness and empathy, and lower levels of malevolent “dark triad” traits. These benevolent traits were also associated with greater life satisfaction. The dark triad refers to …