The Psychology of Resistance: Why Do Some People Speak Out While Others Stay Silent?

On June 14, 2025, the ‘No Kings’ protests in the United States drew an estimated 5 million participants across more than 2,000 locations nationwide. News sources from Fox News to The Guardian agreed on the massive turnout, representing roughly 1.2 to 1.8% of the U.S. population. Many people opposing Trump’s policies took to the streets — yet millions more who shared the same beliefs stayed home.

What drives some individuals to join a public rally, while others who hold similar convictions remain silent? 

People are often motivated to protest when they perceive injustice or threats to their rights. Moral outrage, personal values and individual communities also play a role. But beyond ideology or personal ethics, a more fundamental factor may be at play: personality.

Dr. Jan Dollbaum, Assistant Professor of Comparative Politics at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, explored this question with his co-author Graeme Robertson in their paper The Activist Personality. “As part of my PhD, I studied activism in Russia because I wanted to understand the consequences of protesting in an authoritarian regime,” he explains. “While conducting interviews and fieldwork, I realized it would be interesting to analyze opposition activists through the lens of personality.”

Using the Big Five Personality Model, he included an assessment to study the personality traits of the protesters. His findings were fascinating and nuanced, centering around the two traits of Extraversion and Agreeableness.

Extraversion Predicts Activism

Dollbaum found that opposition activists, whether in authoritarian regimes like Russia or democracies like Germany, tend to score high in Extraversion. 

Extraversion relates to the amount of energy, sociability and expressiveness that a person typically displays. People high in Extraversion are outgoing, talkative and energized by social interaction. They often seek excitement and don’t mind being the center of attention. 

People low in Extraversion tend to be more reserved and prefer quieter environments. Like classic Introverts, people low in Extraversion may feel drained or overwhelmed by too much social stimulation. 

“Extraversion is the trait that seems to correlate universally, regardless of the political landscape, because activism is an activity in which you clearly need to be out there interacting with other people. You are constantly meeting new people. People high in Extraversion aren’t drained by these interactions. Instead, they might find themselves energized by them,” Dollbaum says.

He concluded that Extraversion seems to be a universal predictor of activism, not just in democracies. People who score high in Extraversion help to shift activism from online to offline, and his research found high Extraversion both in anti- and pro-regime activists.

These findings are supported by another study, the 2020 paper titled Personality Traits and the Propensity to Protest. Also using the Big Five Personality Model, this study queried over 20,000 people across 20 countries. The results of this study support Dollbaum’s findings that people high in Extraversion are more likely to be active protestors.

Susan, a regional leader of Democrats Abroad who scores high in Extraversion, makes the point more directly.  “I initially got involved in the organization to meet fellow Americans. I felt disconnected from my homeland and native language and thought that getting involved would be a good way to meet Americans in my area and also do something that makes a difference in the world.” In recent months, she has helped organize several protests.

Agreeableness and Activism: A Complex Dance

Agreeableness has a correlation to activism, but it manifests more subtly. Dollbaum explains that the trait of Agreeableness is more attitudinal, meaning it represents someone’s attitude but doesn’t correlate as clearly to a consistent set of actions.  

Agreeableness reflects how altruistic, cooperative and trusting a person is. It relates to a person’s tendency to be compassionate and willing to work with others. People high in Agreeableness are empathetic, generous and inclined to seek harmony in relationships. They are often seen as warm and considerate. People low in Agreeableness may come across as more skeptical and blunt. They may prioritize honesty or self-interest over social harmony. 

However, when it comes to the psychology of political resistance,  the Agreeableness trait shows up in a multi-faceted way, because the expression of this trait is highly influenced by the environment.

In authoritarian environments, this distinction becomes critical. Highly Agreeable individuals may internally oppose the regime but hesitate to act because they are afraid of social, legal or practical repercussions. In contrast, those low in Agreeableness are less constrained by social harmony and are more willing to engage in active, visible resistance. 

To see how low Agreeableness presents in a protester, look no further than Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist. Although we don’t know if she has taken a Big Five Personality test, her blunt, direct communication style aligns closely with the low Agreeableness trait. This same trait helps her directly challenge authority.

Dollbaum’s research shows that opposition activists, whether pro-democracy Russians or right-wing populists in Germany, tend to score lower in Agreeableness than the general population. 

As Dollbaum observes, “This is so interesting, because at first glance, you would think these two groups have very little in common since they want such different things. But in fact, whatever side of the political spectrum you sit on, if you are protesting against the mainstream, you need all the more the courage and determination to publicly go against it. And being low in Agreeableness helps you do that.”

Still, context matters. Dollbaum speculates that the type and physical location of activism influence the expression of Agreeableness. Big, well-attended protests in urban centers with relatively low risk may attract more participants high in Agreeableness, while riskier settings, for example smaller events in staunchly mainstream communities may attract primarily low-Agreeableness activists.

Brent, a massage therapist from California who scores high in Agreeableness, shares, “As I saw our country sliding toward authoritarianism, I couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Whereas before I was more comfortable donating money or signing petitions, since March, I’ve joined three protests.” 

The Other Big Five Traits

What about Conscientiousness, Openness and Neuroticism? Dollbaum’s study found no reliable correlation between these three traits and activism, but the Personality Traits and the Propensity to Protest study offers a differing perspective. Let’s unpackage the three remaining traits one by one.

Openness and Activism: An Inverse Relationship

The Personality Traits and the Propensity to Protest study suggests that people high in Openness are less likely to protest.

Openness refers to someone’s tendency to be curious and creative. This trait points to a preference for novelty. People high in Openness are typically imaginative, eager to explore new ideas, and comfortable with ambiguity and change. They tend to enjoy abstract thinking and varied experiences. People low in Openness, on the other hand, often gravitate towards familiarity and established routines. They may be more skeptical of unconventional ideas.

Why are people high in the trait of Openness less likely to protest? It is hard to pinpoint why this might be true, but it could be that people high in Openness are more tolerant of diverse ideas, including ones they don’t agree with. Because they are more flexible in their thinking and belief systems, they might have a reduced sense of urgency that drives a lot of protest activity. 

The trait of Openness helps explain why people who share the same belief system might have different appetites for protest and resistance activity.

Conscientiousness and Activism: Not Who, but How

Both Dollbaum’s work and the Personality Traits and the Propensity to Protest study agree that there is no direct relationship between Conscientiousness and activism. Still, there are trends to learn from. 

Conscientiousness describes a person’s tendency to be organized, responsible and goal-driven. People high in Conscientiousness are typically reliable, careful and persistent in their efforts. They plan ahead, meet deadlines, and tend to avoid impulsive behavior. 

People low in Conscientiousness may be more spontaneous or flexible but they can struggle with follow-through, time management or attention to detail. 

Why is there no correlation between Conscientiousness and activism? Most likely, it’s because the trait can push behavior in opposite directions. Conscientious individuals generally value order and following the rules, which would likely discourage them from participating in disruptive protests. But they also feel a strong sense of moral duty which can drive disruptive behavior if they feel their values are threatened. 

However, while the trait doesn’t influence who protests or not, the degree of Consciousness might impact what resistance looks like. A person low in Conscientiousness might be more spontaneous and flexible in responding to shifting opportunities or threats, but they might have difficulty with follow-through on campaigns, managing the logistics of collective action, or sustaining the detailed planning that long-term movements often require. In contrast, someone high in Conscientiousness may bring discipline, persistence, and strong organizational skills to resistance efforts. They lead the way with careful planning and sustained commitment.

Neuroticism and Activism: An Inverse Relationship

While Dollbaum’s study didn’t find a correlation between Neuroticism and activism, the results from the Personality Traits and the Propensity to Protest study suggest people who are high in Neuroticism are more likely to protest. 

Neuroticism reflects how much a person experiences negative emotions such as anxiety, sadness, irritability or self-consciousness. People who score high in Neuroticism are more prone to feeling fear, melancholy, guilt and anxiety. People who score lower in Neuroticism experience these emotions less frequently and are more relaxed and resistant to stress. The opposite of Neuroticism is sometimes referred to as emotional stability.

Why might it be true that Neurotic people are more likely to protest? It could be because acts of resistance rise when people feel angry, anxious or fearful. People high in Neuroticism might reach an emotional tipping point where they move from thoughts and words to action more quickly than their more emotionally stable counterparts. 

The trait of Neuroticism helps to explain how intensity of emotion can be part of the equation when looking at who protests and who stays home. 

Closing Thoughts

Dollbaum closed our conversation with a reminder about the complexity of human personality.  “I was interviewing supporters of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is a really divisive figure in Russia. He has plenty of enemies even within the opposition. I was surprised by how impressed I was with his followers: their kindness, their courage, their political values, and their general readiness to put themselves on the line. And this went along with this low Agreeableness trait.”

It is a powerful reminder that we are more than a sum of our Big Five traits, but also that personality traits really can shape how we respond to risk, opportunity, and the call to take action. By looking at our human tendencies, we begin to understand what drives some people to protest while others remain home. 

Want to understand your attitude to protest? Knowing your Big Five traits can help. Take your free Big Five Personality test here.