I overloaded on politics - do I need a political psycholigist?

I think I have overloaded on politics this week. My waking up to NPR, hearing a particular co-worker whose name starts with a big "M" talk in the hall, reading emails from people who think the world is ending just because Obama is up for election. Seriously? Maybe you have overloaded as well?

That's why I was intrigued when I came across the field of political psychology.

Political psychology is an interdisciplinary academic field dedicated to the relationship between psychology and political science, with a focus on the role of human thought, emotion, and behavior in politics.^[1]...While the grammar of "political psychology" tends to stress psychology as the central field, the discipline could also be accurately labeled "the psychology of politics," so as to more evenly recognize the interdisciplinary nature of the field.^[2]

It's so great that there are other people in the world who think something psychological is going on in politics. What percentage of people vote a way because their parents did, or out of fear or anger, or based on race or gender, or because of a lot of reasons that are about their psychological make up, not politics.

So here are just a few studies I found being done in political psychology at the University of Minnesota (grin). I choose just a few topics I found fascinating.

• Dana Adams and Henriet Hendricks, graduate students in political science, are exploring the effects of charisma in political campaigns.
• Damla Ergun, a graduate student in social psychology, is investigating the intersection between affect and political decision-making and attitudes.
• Social psychology graduate student Corrie Hunt is exploring the relationship between emotional reactions and the structure of political attitudes.
• Political science graduate student Aaron Rapport is investigating the role of false consensus as a mediator between confirmation bias and policy choice in hierarchical small groups.