Police legitimacy refers to one’s trust in the police to be fair and make just decisions in their interactions with the public. Individuals’ perceptions of police legitimacy play a crucial role in predicting how they interact with police. More positive perceptions are associated with cooperative behaviors; less favorable views are associated with resisting behaviors. Few studies have examined the relationship of broad personality traits with perceptions of police legitimacy. The current study examined the HEXACO model of personality and right-wing authoritarianism as predictors of perceived police legitimacy among college students (N = 268). While taking gender, race, and social desirability into account, HEXACO Agreeableness and Openness predicted perceived police legitimacy. Additionally, right-wing authoritarianism accounted for additional variance in police legitimacy beyond the contribution of the HEXACO model. Exploratory analyses showed that both race and political orientation predicted police legitimacy. Black participants scored lower on perceived police legitimacy than White participants. Individuals who self-identified as conservative scored higher on perceived police legitimacy compared to their liberal leaning counterparts. In addition, participants who perceived religion as more important in their lives scored higher on police legitimacy while taking gender, race, and social desirability into account.
","abstract_html":"<p>Police legitimacy refers to one’s trust in the police to be fair and make just decisions in their interactions with the public. Individuals’ perceptions of police legitimacy play a crucial role in predicting how they interact with police. More positive perceptions are associated with cooperative behaviors; less favorable views are associated with resisting behaviors. Few studies have examined the relationship of broad personality traits with perceptions of police legitimacy. The current study examined the HEXACO model of personality and right-wing authoritarianism as predictors of perceived police legitimacy among college students (<em>N</em> = 268). While taking gender, race, and social desirability into account, HEXACO Agreeableness and Openness predicted perceived police legitimacy. Additionally, right-wing authoritarianism accounted for additional variance in police legitimacy beyond the contribution of the HEXACO model. Exploratory analyses showed that both race and political orientation predicted police legitimacy. Black participants scored lower on perceived police legitimacy than White participants. Individuals who self-identified as conservative scored higher on perceived police legitimacy compared to their liberal leaning counterparts. In addition, participants who perceived religion as more important in their lives scored higher on police legitimacy while taking gender, race, and social desirability into account.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Yang, Yuxuan"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Eric Dahlen","Dr. Bonnie Nicholson","Dr. Emily Yowell"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:55Z","subjects":["police legitimacy","personality","authoritarianism","public relations","Civic and Community Engagement","Community Psychology","Counseling Psychology","Multicultural Psychology","Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration","Personality and Social Contexts","Public Affairs","Social Justice","Social Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1173","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Eric Dahlen","Dr. Bonnie Nicholson","Dr. Emily Yowell"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Yang, Yuxuan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-10-07T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["police legitimacy","personality","authoritarianism","public relations","Civic and Community Engagement","Community Psychology","Counseling Psychology","Multicultural Psychology","Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration","Personality and Social Contexts","Public Affairs","Social Justice","Social Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1173"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Police legitimacy refers to one’s trust in the police to be fair and make just decisions in their interactions with the public. Individuals’ perceptions of police legitimacy play a crucial role in predicting how they interact with police. More positive perceptions are associated with cooperative behaviors; less favorable views are associated with resisting behaviors. Few studies have examined the relationship of broad personality traits with perceptions of police legitimacy. The current study examined the HEXACO model of personality and right-wing authoritarianism as predictors of perceived police legitimacy among college students (N = 268). While taking gender, race, and social desirability into account, HEXACO Agreeableness and Openness predicted perceived police legitimacy. Additionally, right-wing authoritarianism accounted for additional variance in police legitimacy beyond the contribution of the HEXACO model. Exploratory analyses showed that both race and political orientation predicted police legitimacy. Black participants scored lower on perceived police legitimacy than White participants. Individuals who self-identified as conservative scored higher on perceived police legitimacy compared to their liberal leaning counterparts. In addition, participants who perceived religion as more important in their lives scored higher on police legitimacy while taking gender, race, and social desirability into account.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Personality and Perceived Police Legitimacy"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Eric Dahlen","Dr. Bonnie Nicholson","Dr. Emily Yowell"],"dc:creator":["Yang, Yuxuan"],"dc:date.available":["2025-10-07T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Police legitimacy refers to one’s trust in the police to be fair and make just decisions in their interactions with the public. Individuals’ perceptions of police legitimacy play a crucial role in predicting how they interact with police. More positive perceptions are associated with cooperative behaviors; less favorable views are associated with resisting behaviors. Few studies have examined the relationship of broad personality traits with perceptions of police legitimacy. The current study examined the HEXACO model of personality and right-wing authoritarianism as predictors of perceived police legitimacy among college students (N = 268). While taking gender, race, and social desirability into account, HEXACO Agreeableness and Openness predicted perceived police legitimacy. Additionally, right-wing authoritarianism accounted for additional variance in police legitimacy beyond the contribution of the HEXACO model. Exploratory analyses showed that both race and political orientation predicted police legitimacy. Black participants scored lower on perceived police legitimacy than White participants. Individuals who self-identified as conservative scored higher on perceived police legitimacy compared to their liberal leaning counterparts. In addition, participants who perceived religion as more important in their lives scored higher on police legitimacy while taking gender, race, and social desirability into account.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1173"],"dc:subject":["police legitimacy","personality","authoritarianism","public relations","Civic and Community Engagement","Community Psychology","Counseling Psychology","Multicultural Psychology","Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration","Personality and Social Contexts","Public Affairs","Social Justice","Social Psychology"],"dc:title":["Personality and Perceived Police Legitimacy"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:55Z"}