My undergraduate Honors thesis defense presentation. My research compared personality and political preferences of undergraduate fraternity and sorority members to non-affiliated students.

1. Regressions on Personality and
Political Preferences of Collegiate
Greek Letter Social Organizations
Michael B. Armstrong
CE/T Defense
Spring 2013

2. Introduction
• Research on fraternities/sororities
–Alcohol abuse/binge drinking
–Academic success/adjustment
–Social involvement
• My interest

3. The Five Factor Model of Personality
• Variety of personality constructs
• Global description of personality
• Five scores
• Literature

4. Political Preference
• Liberalizing Effect
• Typical Greek members
• Finances

5. Hypotheses
I. Greek members more likely to be
extraverted.
II. Greek members less likely to be neurotic.
III. Greeks members less likely to be open to
experience.
IV.Greeks members less likely to be
conscientious.
* (No difference in agreeableness.)

6. Hypotheses
V. Greeks members more likely to be politically
conservative.
VI.The longer Greeks are affiliated to their
respective organizations, the more similar
they will become in personality.
VII.The longer Greeks are affiliated to their
respective organizations, the more similar
they will become in political preference.

7. Methods
• 613 participants
– (70% female, 30% male)
– (51% Greek, 49% unaffiliated)
• Mini-IPIP
• Political Conservatism Measure
• Regressions

8. Results
• Greeks more likely to be extraverted than
unaffiliated students.
Exp (B) = 1.113, p < .001
• Greeks less likely to be neurotic.
Exp (B) = .935, p = .029
• Greeks more likely to be conservative.
Exp (B) = 1.112, p < .001

9. Hypotheses VI & VII
• Inconclusive
–Results need more power
–Sample size
–Design

10. Conclusion
• Greek-affiliated students are more likely to be
extraverted, emotionally stable, and
conservative than unaffiliated college students.
• Gateway to further research