Expand+POL36070 Political Psychology
Academic Year 2022/2023

This module introduces concepts from psychology (e.g. beliefs, emotions, or personality) to better understand politics (e.g. elite decision-making, voting behaviour, or popular uprisings). Top...

Hide-POL36070 Political Psychology
Academic Year 2022/2023

This module introduces concepts from psychology (e.g. beliefs, emotions, or personality) to better understand politics (e.g. elite decision-making, voting behaviour, or popular uprisings). Topics will be structured around three types of methods that are frequently applied in psychology: experiments, surveys, and interviews. You will gain first-hand research experience by working in small teams to evaluate primary data on a topic of your choice (e.g. right-wing voting, state decisions to go to war, or emotional effects of terror attacks). Ideally, the research you will conduct in this module will provide you with a basis for an undergraduate/ master’s thesis, or for an essay to convince your future employers of your research skills.

Learning Outcomes:

- Appreciation of the added value of concepts from psychology to the study of politics

- Extensive knowledge of concepts and methods applied in political psychology

- Understanding of the psychological foundations of various types of political behaviour, such as voting, elite decision-making, or dissent

- First-hand experience in empirical research

- Teamwork skills

Indicative Module Content:
Introduction to key concepts of psychology
Discussion of political behaviour as varied as voting, elite decision-making, and political dissent
Analysis of data from experiments, surveys and interviews