Abstract

The present study aims to provide a contribution to the understanding of the mechanisms at the roots of electoral choice. We examined the impact on voting behaviour of participants' attitudes toward voting for a given coalition and the personality traits they attributed to the respective leaders. Findings from 120 voters underlined the mediational role of attitudes: perceived integrity and leadership traits positively affect the attitude towards voting for the respective coalition, which in turn predict the electoral choice. A significant interaction between leadership and integrity also emerged: the beta weight of the trait with the higher predictive validity (leadership for centre-left candidate and integrity for centre-right candidate) is higher when the other trait is highly attributed to the politician. Practical implications about the most efficient ways of conveying favourable images of candidates were advanced.