PSCI4320 - Political Psychology

PSCI 4320 Political Psychology (3 semester credit hours) What is the connection between your personality and your political beliefs? Do your emotions help you make informed political choices or prevent you from considering all the facts? Does racial prejudice affect your attitudes about politics? In this course, we will apply theories from psychology to political phenomena in order to understand how psychological processes influence political thoughts and actions. The goal of the course will be to review, discuss, and evaluate important concepts in political psychology as well as contemporary contributions and controversies covering the impact of everything from the threat of terrorism to the rise of fake news. In exploring these from the framework of political psychology, we can assess the role of the political brain in shaping American democracy. (3-0) R