Social Identity Theory Of Populism

On November 8th, 2016, the world stood in disbelief. Pundits and regular citizens alike could not believe that the next president of the United States would be Donald J. Trump. Trump had executed one of the most successful contemporary right wing populist campaigns in recent memory. In this essay, I will explore the psychological roots behind Trump’s successful use of populism, and how his narrative spoke and resonated with Americans more than anticipated.

In its most rudimentary form, populism is defined as a movement of the people, often against an elitist, privileged class. (Munro). It is rooted in rebellion, collecting citizens against a united cause; challenging current status quo establishment politics and currently accepted societal

(Canovan, 1999). We can find psychological foundations for this claim under the social identity theory of leadership, as we discussed in lecture. (Haslam and Riecher, 2007, as cited in the coursenotes). Social identity theory speculates that and ideal leader emulates the characteristics, personality traits, and values of the people they represent. (Haslam and Riecher, 2007, as cited in the coursenotes). These claims are further validated by the congruency model of political preference. (Caprara and Zimbardo, 2004. As cited by Bakker, Roodijn, and Schumacher, 2015). The model suggests that people are inclined to seek out and support politicians and political parties that are a reflection of their own image. (Caprara and Zimbardo, 2004. As cited by Bakker, Roodijn, and Schumacher, 2015). In other words, the more human and relatable a politician appears, the more likely they are to galvanize a following. A study conducted by Bakker, Roodijn, and Schumacher found evidence that low agreeableness in the Big 5 Personality Test is an indicator of holding populist views, as a consequence of low agreeableness individuals being skeptical of others behaviour and intentions, especially in regards to politicians. (Bakker, Roodijn, and Schumacher, 2015). Furthermore, in the course reading assignment, “The Mind of Donald Trump”, the author states that Trump exhibits extremely low counts of

While both Clinton and Trump have had their fair share of negative media scandals, Clinton’s were perceived as objectively worse and a bigger detriment to her campaign’s success. Most of Clinton’s high profile scandals have revolved around the central underlying theme of threat to national security, such as the use of private email servers during her time as secretary of state. While Clinton as time and time again been acquitted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, her innocence has not been accepted by the average American. Clinton has been charged, convicted, and currently serving a life sentence in the most important justice system in the world- the court of public opinion. While it is tempting to argue that Trump’s “grabbing her by the pussy” scandal and the like is worse, it falls short when attempting to fit it into a populous agenda. To feel the full gravity of Trump’s scandals, you must first be able to identify or know someone who is a victim of sexual violence. In the case of Clinton, all her scandals revolve around national security. Threats to national security effect the entire American population, thus it is easier to attributing the risk with being one for you and your loved ones, and a risk to your identifying