Although the rational choice approach toward political behavior has been severely criticized, its adherents claim that competing models have failed to offer a more scientific model of political decisionmaking. This measured but provocative book offers precisely that: an alternative way of understanding political behavior based on cognitive research. The authors draw on research in neuroscience, physiology, and experimental psychology to conceptualize habit and reason as two mental states that interact in a delicate, highly functional balance controlled by emotion. Applying this approach to more than fifteen years of election results, they shed light on a wide range of political behavior, including party identification, symbolic politics, and negative campaigning. Remarkably accessible, Affective Intelligence and Political Judgment urges social scientists to move beyond the idealistic notion of the purely rational citizen to form a more complete, realistic model that includes the emotional side of human judgment.
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Building a case that political judgement is both emotive and rational.:
This is an informative, thoughtful, academic presentation of a model of political judgement that may compete with the rational choice model that has dominated political science. The authors present a model whereby two domains or process facilitate decision making, a rational deliberative domain and a threat surveilance domain. Politicians must appeal to both domains when conducting a campaign. In the area of the rational deliverative domain, the politician must build enthusiams for their leadership... more info
Why Emotion Improves Political Participation.:
For many generations, both academia in various disciplines and journalism in the news and editorial departments have widely adhered to the idea that the ideal citizen is detached, disinterested, and well-informed. This ideal has persisted despite the generally observable phenomenon that people who are detached or disinterested very frequently lack the motivation to become well-informed. The authors of this book--two professors of political science and one professor of communications--seek to... more info
