Political Psychology Lecture Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the key theories, figures, and concepts of Political Psychology as presented in the lecture notes.

Political Psychology

The scientific study of political experiences and behavior, often described as the "objective study of political subjectivity," applying psychological insights to the field of politics.

Hyppolyte Taine's Historical Determinism

A theory stating that historical facts are determined by three factors: "$la\,race$" (physical state), "$le\,milieu$" (geography and climate), and "$le\,moment$" (the specific situation).

Mass Psychology (Gustave Le Bon)

A field of study suggesting that individuals in a crowd lose their higher cognitive functions and are governed by "lower psychic functions," such as instincts and the unconscious, making them susceptible to suggestion.

The 'Es' (Id)

According to Sigmund Freud, the unconscious part of the psychic apparatus present from birth, driven by instincts and governed by the "$Plezierprincipe$" (pleasure principle) to seek immediate gratification.

The Authoritarian Personality (Frankfurter Schule)

A concept developed by Adorno and colleagues to identify a 'syndrome' of personality traits, such as rigidity and orientation toward authority, that makes individuals receptive to authoritarian regimes.

Behavioristic Revolution

A shift in political science between $1950$ and $1970$ that emphasized the empirical, quantitative study of observable political behavior over theoretical abstractions.

The Big Five Model

A universal taxonomy of personality traits consisting of: Openness to experience, Conscientiousness (discipline), Extroversion (social), Agreeableness (mildness), and Neuroticism (emotional instability).

Endogenous Pattern

A characteristic of personality where patterns are internal and rooted in neural cells, ensuring consistency and individuality in behavior across different situations.

Conventional Participation

Political behavior expected within a representative democracy, such as voting ($stemgedrag$), participating in election campaigns, or attending party meetings.

Unconventional Participation

Forms of political involvement that exceed traditional institutional boundaries, such as signing petitions, boycotts, strikes, and protests.

Social Cognition

The way individuals see themselves and think about the social world, involving both conscious (controlled) and automatic (unconscious) mental processes.

Likert Scale

A measurement method for attitudes where respondents indicate their level of agreement with statements on a scale, typically from $1$ to $5$.

Bounded Rationality (Herbert Simon)

The theory that human rationality is limited by cognitive capacity and complex environmental information, leading individuals to engage in "$satisficing\,behavior$" (stopping when a 'good enough' solution is found).

Poliheuristic Decision Theory

A two-step decision process where individuals first eliminate all non-satisfactory strategies and then choose the most rational option from the remaining set.

System 2 Thinking

A component of dual-process theory characterized by slow, conscious, and controlled thinking that utilizes logic and distance.

Nudging

A policy instrument where the government makes a socially desirable action more accessible without restricting choice, effectively giving citizens a "shove in the right direction."

Gamification

A category of nudging where socially desirable alternatives are made attractive by presenting them in a game-like format.

Appraisal Theory

A dominant theory of emotion suggesting that individuals make a rational, cognitive assessment of their environment and interest before an emotion is triggered.

Hegemony (Antonio Gramsci)

A state where a group succeeds in getting others to think in its terms, establishing its vision as "common sense" and forming a "historical block."

Breuklijnen (Cleavages)

Social or political divides identified by Lipset and Rokkan (e.g., Church vs. State, Labor vs. Capital) that lead to the formation of groups with specific ideological identities.

Belief System (Converse)

A configuration of ideas and attitudes bound together by some form of constraint, such as logic or historical accident.

Tragedy of the Commons

A social dilemma involving intertemporal trade-offs where short-term individual interests conflict with the long-term sustainability of collective resources.

Robbers' Cave Experiment

A study by Muzafer Sherif demonstrating that intergroup conflict arises from competition over scarce resources but can be reduced through the pursuit of superordinate goals.

Groupthink (Irving Janis)

A psychosocial phenomenon where the pressure for consensus within a highly cohesive group leads to poor decision-making and a disregard for critical, external information.

Political Socialization

The process by which individuals acquire political values and orientations, either through "$primary\,socialization$" (family) or "$secondary\,socialization$" (schools/peers).

Moral Foundations Theory (Jonathan Haidt)

A theory identifying five universal psychological dimensions that regulate social behavior: Care/Harm, Fairness/Cheating, Loyalty/Betrayal, Authority/Subversion, and Sanctity/Degradation.

Panopticon (Michel Foucault)

A model of power based on a "reversal of visibility," where the constant possibility of being watched induces individuals to self-regulate and follow rules.

Cognitive Dissonance Reduction (Leon Festinger)

The process by which individuals resolve the tension of conflicting knowledge elements by filtering out "dissonant" information to maintain internal consistency.