"Political psychology is an interdisciplinary academic field, dedicated to understanding politics, politicians and political behavior from a psychological perspective, and psychological processes using socio-political perspectives."
This subfield studies the psychological factors that influence political behavior, including attitudes, beliefs, and emotions.
Attitudes and Persuasion: The study of how attitudes are formed, changed, and how they influence behavior in political settings.
Political Identity: The psychological attachment individuals have to their political groups or affiliations, and how this influences their behavior.
Group Dynamics and Polarization: The study of how group dynamics and polarization occur in political groups and how they impact individual attitudes and behavior.
Leadership and Decision Making: The examination of how political leaders make decisions, the factors that influence their decision making, and the impact of leadership on followers and group behavior.
Emotions and Politics: The understanding of how emotions are experienced, expressed, and used in political contexts, and how they shape attitudes and behavior.
Social Influence and Conformity: The study of how individuals conform to group norms and are influenced by social pressure, with a focus on political settings.
Intergroup Relations: The study of how individuals perceive and interact with members of different groups, and how this affects their political behavior and attitudes.
Public Opinion and Survey Research: The study of how opinions and attitudes are measured, and how this information is used to shape public policy.
Political Communication and Media: The study of how political messages are conveyed through media and how this influences public opinion and behavior.
Political Violence and Conflict Resolution: The understanding of the psychological factors that contribute to political violence and how they may be addressed through conflict resolution and intervention strategies.
"The relationship between politics and psychology is considered bidirectional, with psychology being used as a lens for understanding politics and politics being used as a lens for understanding psychology."
"Political psychology borrows from a wide range of disciplines, including anthropology, economics, history, international relations, journalism, media, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology."
"Political psychology aims to understand interdependent relationships between individuals and contexts that are influenced by beliefs, motivation, perception, cognition, information processing, learning strategies, socialization and attitude formation."
"Political psychological theory and approaches have been applied in many contexts such as: leadership role; domestic and foreign policy making; behavior in ethnic violence, war and genocide; group dynamics and conflict; racist behavior; voting attitudes and motivation; voting and the role of the media; nationalism; and political extremism."
"In essence, political psychologists study the foundations, dynamics, and outcomes of political behavior using cognitive and social explanations."