Political Psychology

Catalog description

Polticial Psychology: This course provides a broad survey of the interdisciplinary field of political psychology with a focus on American politics. Our main objective will be to examine psychological theories and concepts and how they can help us understand the behavior, attitudes, and decision- making of political actors ranging from elites to the masses. The breadth of political psychology is immense, and we cannot possibly cover every area of research or even every aspect of the topics we discuss. We will focus on those lines of research that are fundamental to understanding basic political behavior and which shed light on the state of modern American politics. After completing this course, you will improve your understanding of how the human psyche influences political attitudes and how those attitudes motivate behavior within the political environment. No prerequisites. (Offered every even spring term)