The working group in Political Psychology consists of scholars that apply contemporary psychological theories, concepts, and methods to the study of political behavior. Focal points of research within the group consist of the application of social psychology (e.g., the subfields of attitudes, emotions, group identities) and cognitive psychology (e.g., memory and cognition, decision-making processes) to understanding the formation of people’s political preferences, voter behavior during electoral campaigns, and the implementation of public policy by elected officials. The working group is methodologically diverse emphasizing laboratory and field experiments, text analysis, elite interviews, and survey research. The Political Psychology working group is sponsoring their first conference “Immigration, Ethnicity, and Inclusion: Understanding Public Attitudes” to be held in Spring 2017.
Faculty members include: