Political Psychology

Catalog description

This course will explore the role of psychology in politics ? that is, rather than examining what happened in politics (e.g., who won an election) or how it happened (e.g., who voted for whom), we will look at why it happened by looking at the psychology of individuals. We?ll delve into enduring questions such as do the common liberal democratic assumption that citizens are rational and engaged in political affairs hold up to empirical scrutiny? If not, can the public still effectively participate in democracy? When do individuals engage with politics? What motivates them? More generally, what are the implications of psychology for the way politics works, and ought to work? In answering these questions, students will also learn about the variety of methodological tools used to study political psychology including lab experiments, online surveys, and field studies. (GOVT-AM)