The mind, the self and political behaviour

In this unit, you will develop a unique perspective of the political world around us by exploring political realities through a psychological, and especially a social-psychological, lens. The primary objectives of the unit are two-fold. The first objective is to examine the key social-psychological concepts, models and theories that are relevant to politics (e.g., personality, social identity, the dynamics of social groups, the role of emotions, etc.)- The second objective is to apply these concepts to various political topics to discern the psychological and social-psychological causes and consequences of political attitudes and behaviour (including opinions and ideologies, leadership, race and intergroup relations, media and political advertising, radicalisation and extremism, political violence, military enlistment and war, etc.)