Open AccessThe measurement, structure, and cross-cultural equivalence of political party perception. Evidence from Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine
Author(s) -
Oleg Gorbaniuk,
Michał Wilczewski,
Ana Ivanova,
Halyna Bevz,
Julia Gorbaniuk
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
przegląd wschodnioeuropejski
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.186
H-Index - 4
eISSN - 2450-0828
pISSN - 2081-1128
DOI - 10.31648/pw.6471
Subject(s) - backwardness , politics , personality , perception , political science , social psychology , psychology , democracy , political economy , sociology , economics , economic growth , law , neuroscience
This paper examines the cross-cultural universality of the structural model of (voter) perception of political parties (PPP) in three ex-communist countries with party-centered systems, but with different economic and cultural backgrounds, and different levels of democracy development. We conducted a confirmatory study of a five-dimensional structure of PPP, which had been established through lexical research, using data from voters in Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine. The structure involved personality-related dimensions (Strength, Disagreeableness, and Integrity) and non-personality dimensions, such as worldview (Left Wing vs. Right Wing) and evaluation (Backwardness vs. Modernity). The study revealed the configural and metric invariance of the structure of PPP. Its dimensions explain political preferences in each country at the individual level, but also differentiate between PPPs at the between-country level, both in the group of supporters and opponents of political parties. We linked voter perceptions with political preferences by presenting a five-factor model of PPP established on a valid and reliable psychometric inventory.