Abstract
Images about politics take a specific form in the imagination of the electorate, eliciting specific associations and thus becoming a source of attitudes and influencing election preferences. At the same time, the increasing importance of politicians’ perceived personality traits and images has been observed. Empirical studies of politicians’ personalities provide one of the more effective tools for studying the basic features of the personalisation of politics, including at a local level. Such studies involve the measurement of citizens’ perceptions of politicians’ personality traits. This article seeks to systematise key concepts and provide an introduction to conducting advanced empirical research in this area.