ATS2256 - Political psychology - 2017

This unit offers a broad overview of political psychology, and introduces a new perspective on how to understand the political world around us. The objectives of the unit are to first introduce students to key concepts from psychology that are relevant to politics (e.g., personality, social identity, the dynamics of social groups, the role of emotions, etc.), and second, to apply these concepts to various topics within political science, including leadership, race and inter-group relations, the formation of opinions and ideologies, political violence, media and political advertising, etc.

1. Understand broad findings from psychology (and other related disciplines) and be able to apply them to political science questions;
2. Understand the complex interplay between psychological factors, social context, and politics;
3. Apply relevant theories in order to explain and predict political behaviour.

Within semester assessment: 60%

Exam: 40%

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Associate Professor Kerry O'Brien

Behavioural studies

Politics