Political psychology applies what is known about human psychology to the study of politics. It examines how, for example, people reach political decisions on topics such as voting, party identification, and political attitudes as well as how leaders mediate political conflicts and make foreign policy decisions. The Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology gathers together a distinguished group of scholars from around the world to shed light on such questions as: how does personality affect leadership style? What are the origins of racial prejudice? How does violent communal conflict originate? Focusing first on political psychology at the individual level (attitudes, values, decision-making, ideology, personality) and then moving to the collective (group identity, mass mobilization, political violence), this fully interdisciplinary volume covers models of the mass public and political elites and addresses both domestic issues and foreign policy. Providing an up-to-date account of cutting-edge research within both psychology and political science, this is an essential reference for scholars and students interested in the intersection of the two fields.
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The best starting point for those interested in political psychology:
Up to now I perused through the pages and read on some hot topics that are discussed in the field of political psychology today.
My intention, as a Masters student in Social Psychology, is to see if this book serves as a good basis for a possible Ph.D later on, as the university in the Netherlands where I'm currently studying does not present a similar course. This well written book has served as a good source of inspiration on which one would want to delve further in this interesting field. If there... more info
basic readable reference:
This work is a self-conscious précis of the current professional norms of political psychology which loosely presents itself as applying what is best known in psychology to political science. In many ways political psychology puts a human face on social political processes that addresses motives as well as clusters of behavior needing explication that soft pedals reductive theory for more empirical observation quantified from many events and cultural circumstances. The essays in Handbook of Political... more info
