What if your political identity has less to do with facts and more to do with personality and conditioning? In this episode of Stories and Stanza's Fail With Me series, host Abhra sits down with psychologist Jennifer Cox to unpack the psychology behind political identity — without labeling any side as right or wrong.
Using the Big Five (OCEAN) personality framework, they explore research linking higher openness to left-leaning tendencies and higher conscientiousness to right-leaning tendencies, along with how extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism shape political engagement, emotional reactivity, and our vulnerability to filter bubbles.
Abhra also shares a personal story of perfectionism, anger, illness, and loss that became a turning point toward curiosity, mindfulness, and creative freedom — connecting emotional intelligence and openness in a very human way. The conversation moves into belonging, unpacking the real origins (and modern misuse) of \"Maslow's hierarchy of needs,\" and how political movements weaponize in-group/out-group fear. The episode closes with a preview of future topics: immigration, intergenerational trauma, and gender fluidity.
If you're interested in political psychology, emotional intelligence, personality theory, or how conditioning shapes belief systems, this episode is for you.
Jennifer earned her minor in creative writing from Alfred University in 2016. As a pansexual genderflux individual and a trauma-informed mental health counsellor, they’re passionate about representation in fiction. Each story she tells is an opportunity to explore the beauty in nonconformity, healing, and diversity. After a lifetime of putting imagination to paper, Jennifer’s debut novel, Getting to Know You, came into being as a promise kept to a friend. Jennifer lives in the Finger Lakes with her family, enjoying tabletop roleplaying games, sewing, and cuddling their cat.
Find her books here:
Timestamps
00:00 Failure Sparks Change
01:15 Podcast Intro
01:39 Meet Jennifer Cox
04:11 Episode Focus: Political Identity
06:51 EQ Measurement Challenges
11:29 Big Five (OCEAN) Overview
14:11 Host's Turning Point Story
20:37 From Rigidity to Politics
22:42 Openness and Left-Leaning Tendencies
24:12 Conscientiousness and Right-Leaning Tendencies
26:07 Extraversion, Agreeableness & Neuroticism
31:44 Filter Bubbles and Disengagement
34:16 Conditioning Limits Curiosity
38:58 Belonging and Maslow Reframed
45:52 Politics Weaponizes Belonging
49:58 Immigration and Generational Views
53:20 Intergenerational Trauma and Identity
58:05 Wrap-Up and Where to Follow
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#PoliticalPsychology #EmotionalIntelligence #BigFive #PersonalityTraits #FilterBubbles #MentalHealthPodcast #FailWithMe #StoriesAndStanza
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