Political psychology is an interdisciplinary science, which is at the intersection of sociology, psychology and political science. It has been more developed and disseminated in studies in the USA and Canada, and to a lesser extent in European countries. In Russia, the first works appeared only in the early nineties of the last century (E. Shestopal, A. Yuryev, E. Gantman-Egorova, etc.).
Political psychology has several subjects to study:
- Psychological components in the political behavior of a person. They are the center of most research.
- The use of psychological knowledge in the explanation of political phenomena.
But that's not all. Political psychology is a young branch of science; therefore, it is constantly supplemented by new research and theoretical developments. Each scientist adds his own vision to the interpretation of the subject.
Political psychology studies a wide range of issues.
Firstly, foreign policy. We are talking about the psychology of peace and war, terrorism, political decision-making, ethnic and interstate conflicts, mutual perception of partners in the negotiation process.
Secondly, this science is engaged in domestic political life. It is about motivating the political participation of citizens in institutions and movements, discrimination against minorities, the psychology of the formation of political identity, and so on.
This young science has a special, specific problem. This is about:
- macro-political processes of various levels (national, regional and global);
- transitional processes (democratization, changing political institutions, changing identities, dynamics of public opinion);
- processes going on in the mass and group political consciousness, as well as behavior (decision-making, the formation of political group attitudes, political conformism, leadership, conflicts, cooperation, mass political attitudes, etc.);
- political behavior and socialization of every citizen;
- voters' perceptions of leaders and elects, their vocabulary, thinking, ideology, and technology in decision making.
The methods of political psychology are oriented towards obtaining empirical data of various levels. But the main emphasis is on the study of individual consciousness and behavior. The widespread use of content analysis (speeches, documents, video materials), interviews and focus groups. In addition, political psychology in its arsenal has projective methods, tests, expert assessments, and so on. In the process of consulting with clients, some psychotherapeutic and corrective methods are used.
Separately, we need to dwell on the leading theoretical paradigms:
The main one is political behaviorism. Its main task is to study diverse and specific forms in political behavior. The thoughts and feelings of the individual about the chosen ones, as well as the situation in the world and country, are not taken into account. His supporters (R. Nayemi, D. Easton, D. Dennis and others) made a significant contribution to the study of various forms of political participation, interstate and interethnic conflicts, socialization, etc.
In addition, political psychology is based on the development of a cognitive or humanistic direction (D. Adelson, L. Kolberg, R. Inglehart, S. Renshon and others). They are mainly devoted to what citizens think about politics, how leaders and parties are perceived, and how the media influence a person’s worldview.
Political psychology is a young and dynamically developing science.