intro to political psychology book terms

altruists

Individuals who prioritize the welfare of others over their own self-interest, often engaging in behaviors that promote social good.

coalition

A group of individuals or organizations that come together to achieve a common goal or interest, often for political or social purposes.

ethnocentrism

The belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group, leading to the evaluation of other cultures based on one's own cultural norms. This often results in prejudice or discrimination against those perceived as different.

“the view of things in which one’s own group is the center of everything … and looks with contempt on outsiders.” Ethnocentrism is singled out as the cause of ethnic conflict, political instability, and war

locus of control

the degree to which people believe they control their own lives (internal) versus believing outside forces like luck or fate control them (external)

externals

people who believe the external environment strongly determines what happens to them — are less likely to resist authority

internals

people who believe they have considerable control over their fate — are more likely to resist authority

social causality

During hard times, the groups people are particularly attracted to are those that “provide an ideological blueprint for a better world and an enemy who must be destroyed to fulfill the ideology”

social justification

wherein that group’s poor treatment is justified. The most extreme version of this is dehumanization of the scapegoat, whereby the group members are regularly described as less than human and therefore deserving of treatment one would not administer to a human being.

authoritarian personality

psychological type characterized by rigid adherence to conventional values, submission to authority, and hostility towards out-groups

culture of terror

culture of terror … is an institutionalized system of permanent intimidation of the masses or subordinated communities by the elite, characterized by the use of torture and disappearances and other forms of extrajudicial death squad killings as standard practice. A culture of terror establishes “collective fear” as a brutal means of social control. In these systems there is a constant threat of repression, torture, and death for anyone who is actively critical of the political status quo

paramilitaries

organizations that resort to the physical elimination of presumed auxiliaries of rebel groups and of individuals seen as subversive of the moral order … They mostly operate through death squads

death squads

an armed paramilitary group formed to kill particular people, especially political opponents

Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation (FIRO)

a psychological model and assessment tool that helps individuals understand their basic interpersonal needs in three key areas: Inclusion, Control, and Affection

moral disengagement

people justify unethical behavior by disconnecting their moral standards from their actions, allowing them to harm others without guilt using mechanisms like euphemistic labeling (calling killing "servicing the target"), displacing responsibility ("I was just following orders"), minimizing consequences ("it's not a big deal"), or dehumanizing victims ("they deserved it")
they will not participate in such behaviors unless there is a moral justification to do so.

rogue image

perceptual stereotype or mental model that policymakers and the public in one state (typically the U.S.) construct about another state (the "rogue state").

ally image

a cognitive schema or stereotype that one group (typically a nation) forms of another group, viewing them as cooperative, reliable, and having compatible goals
as allies who have represented the same communities, are the same people culturally, and share the same problems of discrimination.

barbarian image

a negative out-group stereotype that portrays another group or nation as irrational, violent, and lacking moral judgment

one of people who are perceived to be superior to the perceiver in capability, inferior in culture, and aggressive in intentions.

colonial image

the visual and narrative tools (like staged photos, stereotypes) used by colonizers to portray indigenous people as inferior, justifying dominance and shaping identities

core community non-nation-states

a country dominated by a powerful ethnic or sectarian group that sees itself as the true nation, controlling the state, while other groups within the same borders hold primary loyalty to their own distinct ethnic identities, often seeking autonomy or statehood but lacking the power to achieve it, leading to internal tensions between the dominant group's nationalism and minority nationalisms

degenerate image

used to dehumanize an "out-group" (a political or social group perceived as an opponent or threat) and to justify hostile actions or discrimination against them. 

imperialist image

how a less powerful nation (ingroup) perceives a dominant foreign nation (outgroup) as arrogant, controlling, exploitative, and culturally superior, leading the weaker group to engage in indirect resistance, sabotage, or rebellion rather than direct conflict, often fueled by anger and a sense of humiliation or cultural threat from the stronger power

populism (vs nationalism)

politics as a struggle between the virtuous "pure people" and a corrupt elite (vertical division), appealing to belonging and status needs, while nationalism focuses on an "imagined community" (the nation) defined by shared culture/identity, distinguishing "us" (the nation) from "them" (other nations or outsiders) (horizontal division). Populism is a strategy/ideology about who rules (people vs. elites), while nationalism is about who belongs (the nation). 

analogical reasoning

cognitive process where policymakers and other actors use their knowledge of a familiar situation or past historical event (the "source") to understand, make inferences about, and formulate responses to a new or unfamiliar one (the "target")

analogy

a decision-making heuristic, or shorthand, in which policy-makers see a current event or situation as similar to (or sharing many of the same characteristics as) a previous historical event.

cognitive rigidity

the difficulty in adapting thought patterns, beliefs, and problem-solving strategies to new or conflicting political information

deterrence

the threat by one political actor to take actions in response to another actor’s potential actions that would make the costs (or losses) incurred far outweigh any possible benefits (or gains) obtained by the aggressor.

the strategic use of threats (often severe, like military retaliation) to persuade an adversary not to take a specific action, relying heavily on manipulating the potential attacker's perception of costs, risks, and credibility, essentially changing their cost-benefit analysis through fear and rational calculation rather than force itself

think of the game of chicken

enemy image

a negative, often distorted, stereotype of an adversary (individual or group) built on beliefs of their inherent hostility, evil, stupidity, or deceit

game of chicken

a conflict where two rivals head towards a collision, each hoping the other swerves first to avoid disaster, but neither wants to back down due to pride, risking the worst outcome (a crash) if both stay aggressive

group malfunctions

comes from groupthink… faulty processes, which become far more pronounced and prevalent during the high-stress conditions of crises, can lead groups to become even more insular, and fall into patterns of decision-making that increase the chances of conflict

Guns of August analogy

the use of a historical event—the rapid, miscalculated escalation to World War I described in Barbara Tuchman's book The Guns of August—as a cognitive tool or heuristic to guide decision-making and avoid similar catastrophic errors in modern crises. 

Munich analogy

refers to the 1938 Munich Agreement, where Britain and France appeased Hitler's territorial demands on Czechoslovakia, hoping to avoid war, only for Hitler to break the promise and start WWII, making "Munich" a byword for weakness, appeasement, and naive concessions to aggressors that only embolden them, used often in foreign policy debates to argue against negotiating with dictators. 

policy fiascoes

not merely as objective failures but as a specific type of social and political construct resulting from a confluence of programmatic failure and negative public and political judgment

protracted crisis approach

long-term, persistent conflicts or societal instabilities that become central to the lives of affected populations, shaping their socio-psychological infrastructure, attitudes, and behaviors over extended periods, often across generations.

prospect theory

explains how people make decisions under uncertainty, showing they weigh potential losses more heavily than equivalent gains (loss aversion), become risk-averse with potential gains but risk-seeking with potential losses, and judge outcomes relative to a reference point, rather than absolutely, explaining why political actors/citizens often stick to the status quo (endowment effect) or take big risks to avoid significant losses, impacting policy, reform acceptance, and conflict. 

Vietnam analogy

historical analogy used by policymakers and the public to debate the use of military force abroad. It primarily functions as a cautionary tale against becoming involved in prolonged, unpopular, and ultimately unsuccessful foreign military interventions, a phenomenon widely known as the "Vietnam Syndrome"

contact hypothesis

the idea that positive, cooperative, face-to-face interaction between members of different political, ethnic, or social groups can reduce prejudice, bias, and conflict, fostering understanding and tolerance, provided specific conditions like equal status, common goals, and authority support are met

intractable conflicts

deeply rooted, protracted struggles that resist resolution due to fundamental identity/needs, zero-sum perceptions, and pervasive destructive patterns, becoming central to societies and fueled by sociopsychological factors like collective memory and group identity, making them seem unsolvable despite immense costs

multiethnic and multisectarian states

multiethnic and multisectarian states are defined by the presence of multiple distinct ethnic or religious groups within a single country's borders, where members often give primary loyalty to their group rather than the broader national community. 

reconciliation (vs forgiveness)

mutual acceptance by groups of each other. The essence of reconciliation is a changed psychological orientation toward the other.” Reconciliation and forgiveness are interrelated. Forgiveness involves the restoration of a positive relationship between perpetrator and victim wherein negative emotions toward the perpetrator are replaced with positive emotions and prosocial behavior. Unlike reconciliation, forgiveness is regarded as one-sided in that the victim forgives the perpetrator

shared sovereignty strategies

consensual governance arrangements where multiple governing bodies, often a host state and external international actors, jointly hold and exercise domestic authority over specific policy domains or territories, such as law enforcement, judicial systems, or economic management

social comparison vs social creativity vs social mobility

Social Comparison is evaluating one's group (in-group) status by looking at others (out-groups), while Social Mobility is an individual strategy to leave a low-status group for a higher one; Social Creativity (vs. mobility/competition) is a group strategy to reframe the comparison by changing values, dimensions, or groups to make the in-group look better without changing the status hierarchy itself, often politicizing identity for change

truth and reconciliation commission

a national mechanism to confront past human rights abuses, focusing on collective memory, trauma healing, and identity reconstruction after conflict, allowing victims to share stories and perpetrators to confess for amnesty, aiming to build a shared national narrative, foster forgiveness over vengeance, and facilitate political transition by addressing deep-seated psychological wounds for a unified future

utilitarian integration strategy

framework or approach where the morality or value of political actions, policies, or even the existence of a government is judged based purely on its consequences for maximizing overall well-being or "utility" for the greatest number of people

cognitive style

stable individual differences in how people process political information, influencing their reasoning, judgments, and attitudes, often contrasting styles like open-mindedness (considering diverse views) with closed-mindedness/dogmatism (favoring pre-existing beliefs)

collegial management style

a system of shared governance and decision-making among a group of equal or near-equal individuals, operating on the core principles of consensus, mutual respect, and shared responsibility. 

competitive management style

a leader's approach to decision-making that is highly assertive and low on cooperation, prioritizing their own goals or those of their group (a "win-lose" scenario) at the potential expense of other parties or relationships

formalistic management style

an approach to decision-making characterized by strictly hierarchical, orderly structures and a strong emphasis on the formal chain of command. 

orientation toward political conflict

refers to an individual's fundamental disposition or tendency to either approach (seek out/engage) or avoid (shun/withdraw from) political disagreements and disputes, influencing how they process information, participate politically, and react to opposing views, with some embracing conflict for learning (positive orientation) and others fearing it (negative/avoidant orientation).

sense of efficacy

a citizen's belief in their ability to understand and influence political processes and outcomes

transactional vs transformational leadership

Transactional leadership is a style based on a clear exchange or "transaction" of resources, where leaders offer tangible rewards (pay, promotions, recognition) in exchange for subordinate effort, compliance, and loyalty.

Transformational leadership focuses on engaging with followers to raise their consciousness about the significance of specific outcomes, inspiring them to achieve extraordinary results beyond their self-interest for the good of the group or nation.

charisma

a compelling, magnetic personal quality enabling leaders to inspire devotion and influence followers by crafting inspiring visions, communicating effectively, and making people feel seen, valued, and capable, often emerging during crises

collective action

the coordinated effort by individuals, acting as a group, to achieve shared goals or address common problems, focusing on the psychological factors that drive participation (like identity, emotion, meaning) and overcome the "free-rider problem," where people benefit without contributing, often seen in protests, movements, or community efforts for social change

dynamics of demand

studies the psychological factors (grievances, identity, efficacy, emotions) that motivate citizens to make political claims or join movements

dynamics of supply or mobilization

explain how people move from having grievances (demand) to taking action, using an economic metaphor: Demand is the public's desire for change (grievances, identity), while Supply is what movement organizations offer (opportunities, frames, leadership). Mobilization is the "marketing" process, using communication and social networks to connect this demand with the available supply of protest actions (rallies, boycotts)

politicized collective identity

when a shared sense of group belonging (like ethnicity, gender, or even interests) becomes central to one's self-concept, leading individuals to engage as a self-conscious group in a larger societal power struggle for recognition or resources, reframing personal troubles as public issues demanding collective political action

pragmatism

a decision-making approach valuing practical, workable solutions over rigid ideologies, focusing on real-world consequences, results, and compromise to achieve goals, asking "What works best?" rather than adhering to abstract doctrines

relative deprivation theory

explains discontent and political action (like protests, movements) as arising from a perceived gap between what people expect to have (their "value expectations") and what they believe they can get or actually possess (their "value capabilities"), often by comparing themselves to others (reference groups) rather than just their own objective needs

social capital

the collective value from social networks, norms (like trust, reciprocity), and relationships that enable individuals and groups to act, cooperate, and achieve shared goals, influencing civic engagement, political participation, and community well-being, essentially the "who you know" and shared values that foster collective action for mutual benefit.

social movements

collective efforts driven by shared grievances (like injustice or deprivation) and collective identities, using non-institutionalized actions (protests, campaigns) to demand societal change from authorities

social movement organizations (SMOs)

a formal, goal-directed group like the NAACP or Greenpeace, established to organize people, resources, and ideas to achieve broader social or political change, often operating partly outside mainstream politics by mobilizing collective action and challenging existing norms or institutions for societal transformation