IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bpd/articl/v4y2021i1jbpa.41.203.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Personality traits in citizen expectations towards public services

Author

Listed:
  • Morten Hjortskov

    (Aarhus University)

Abstract

Prior expectations are an important determining factor of how citizens evaluate politicians, government and public services. Typically, citizen expectations are divided into two main categories: predictive (“will†) expectations and normative (“should†) expectations. Theories of expectations say that predictive expectations are the sterile and indifferent prediction of future events, while normative expectations have a foundation in personal norms and values and express how the world should look according to the individual. Therefore, normative expectations should have antecedents more closely related to the individual’s personality than predictive expectations. However, these theoretical claims regarding the nature of the two different expectation types have not yet been tested empirically. Examining broad personality traits (Big Five) and The Maximizing Tendency trait, this exploratory study analyzes whether different personality antecedents explain the two types of expectations. Results show that the personality traits agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness correlate positively, and extraversion negatively, with normative expectations. None of the traits correlate with predictive expectations. These results have implications for politicians’ efforts to shape citizens’ expectations, the citizen satisfaction literature, including work considering the expectation-disconfirmation model, and for further research on citizen expectations.

Suggested Citation

  • Morten Hjortskov, 2021. "Personality traits in citizen expectations towards public services," Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, Center for Experimental and Behavioral Public Administration, vol. 4(1).
  • Handle: RePEc:bpd:articl:v:4:y:2021:i:1:jbpa.41.203
    DOI: 10.30636/jbpa.41.203
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journal-bpa.org/index.php/jbpa/article/download/203/98
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.30636/jbpa.41.203?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. repec:cup:judgdm:v:11:y:2016:i:2:p:126-146 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Stephan Grimmelikhuijsen & Gregory A. Porumbescu, 2017. "Reconsidering the expectancy disconfirmation model. Three experimental replications," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(9), pages 1272-1292, October.
    3. Victor G. Hugg & Kelly LeRoux, 2019. "Personality traits as predictors of citizen engagement with local government," Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, Center for Experimental and Behavioral Public Administration, vol. 2(2).
    4. repec:cup:judgdm:v:7:y:2012:i:5:p:644-658 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Gregg G. Van Ryzin, 2004. "Expectations, performance, and citizen satisfaction with urban services," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(3), pages 433-448.
    6. Gerber, Alan S. & Huber, Gregory A. & Doherty, David & Dowling, Conor M. & Ha, Shang E., 2010. "Personality and Political Attitudes: Relationships across Issue Domains and Political Contexts," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 104(1), pages 111-133, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zongfeng Sun & Jintao Li, 2019. "Citizens’ Satisfaction with Air Quality and Key Factors in China—Using the Anchoring Vignettes Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-19, April.
    2. Morten Hjortskov, 2020. "Interpreting expectations: Normative and predictive expectations from the citizens’ viewpoint," Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, Center for Experimental and Behavioral Public Administration, vol. 3(1).
    3. Dwight R. Lee & Ryan H. Murphy, 2017. "An expressive voting model of anger, hatred, harm and shame," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 173(3), pages 307-323, December.
    4. Marco R Steenbergen & Tomasz Siczek, 2017. "Better the devil you know? Risk-taking, globalization and populism in Great Britain," European Union Politics, , vol. 18(1), pages 119-136, March.
    5. Yu-Chuan Chen & Yung-Ho Chiu & Tzu-Han Chang & Tai-Yu Lin, 2023. "Sustainable Development, Government Efficiency, and People’s Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 1549-1578, April.
    6. Carolyn‐Dung Thi Thanh Tran & Brian Dollery, 2021. "All in the Mind: Citizen Satisfaction and Financial Performance in the Victorian Local Government System," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 31(1), pages 51-64, March.
    7. Katherine Campbell & Cullen F. Goenner & Matthew Notbohm & Adam Smedema, 2022. "Political ideology and CEO performance under crisis," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 329-359, January.
    8. Xinghua Zhao & Zongfeng Sun, 2020. "The Effect of Satisfaction with Environmental Performance on Subjective Well-Being in China: GDP as a Moderating Factor," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-12, February.
    9. Ivo Bischoff & Nataliya Kusa, 2016. "Should wealth transfers be taxed? Citizens’ view on a fundamental question," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201636, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    10. Kauder, Björn & Potrafke, Niklas & Ursprung, Heinrich, 2018. "Behavioral determinants of proclaimed support for environment protection policies," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 26-41.
    11. Micaela Pinho & Mara Madaleno, 2024. "Willingness to pay more health taxes? The relevance of personality traits and situational effects," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 23(1), pages 1-31, December.
    12. André Blais & Jean-François Laslier & François Poinas & Karine Straeten, 2015. "Citizens’ preferences about voting rules: self-interest, ideology, and sincerity," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 164(3), pages 423-442, September.
    13. Pedersen, Line Bjørnskov & Andersen, Merethe Kirstine Kousgaard & Jensen, Ulrich Thy & Waldorff, Frans Boch & Jacobsen, Christian Bøtcher, 2018. "Can external interventions crowd in intrinsic motivation? A cluster randomised field experiment on mandatory accreditation of general practice in Denmark," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 224-233.
    14. Paul G. Lewis, 2019. "Moral Foundations in the 2015-16 U.S. Presidential Primary Debates: The Positive and Negative Moral Vocabulary of Partisan Elites," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-25, August.
    15. Pedersen, Line Bjørnskov & Allen, Thomas & Waldorff, Frans Boch & Andersen, Merethe Kirstine Kousgaard, 2020. "Does accreditation affect the job satisfaction of general practitioners? A combined panel data survey and cluster randomised field experiment," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(8), pages 849-855.
    16. Harman Preet Singh & Mohammad Alshallaqi & Mohammed Altamimi, 2023. "Predicting Critical Factors Impacting Hotel Online Ratings: A Comparison of Religious and Commercial Destinations in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-25, August.
    17. Ivo Bischoff & Nataliya Kusa, 2015. "Policy preferences for inheritance taxation," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201531, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    18. Paul Marx, 2019. "Should we study political behaviour as rituals? Towards a general micro theory of politics in everyday life," Rationality and Society, , vol. 31(3), pages 313-336, August.
    19. Rebecca Morton & Jean-Robert Tyran & Erik Wengström, 2011. "Income and Ideology: How Personality Traits, Cognitive Abilities, and Education Shape Political Attitudes," Discussion Papers 11-08, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    20. Buser, Thomas, 2024. "Adversarial Economic Preferences Predict Right-Wing Voting," IZA Discussion Papers 16711, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Personality traits; Expectations; Citizens; Public services; Satisfaction;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • Z00 - Other Special Topics - - General - - - General
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bpd:articl:v:4:y:2021:i:1:jbpa.41.203. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sebastian Jilke (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://journal-bpa.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.