inFocus on political polarization, personality, and political behaviour

On this episode of inFocus, I’m joined by Dr. Marc Hetherington and Dr. Jonathan Weiler, authors of Prius or Pickup? How the Answers to Four Simple Questions Explain America’s Great Divide. The book was published in 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

I read the book a few years ago and it had a big impact on how think about public opinion, political behaviour, and what impacts both. In their book, Hetherington and Weiler show that the key to understanding polarization in the United States requires understanding how personality and worldviews impact opinions and behaviour.

They also show that these factors also impact what we drive, where we live, where we vacation, and not surprising how we vote.