Psychology of Political Behavior
The Graduate Center offers an interdisciplinary concentration in the Psychology of Political Behavior. The concentration draws on doctoral programs in Anthropology, Criminal Justice, Political Science, Psychology (subprograms in Clinical, Industrial and Organizational, and Social-Personality Psychology), and Sociology.
The concentration is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the role that psychological factors and processes play in the shaping of political life and behavior. Reflecting the diversity of its faculty, the concentration has no single theoretical or methodological orientation. Participating faculty are trained in anthropology, clinical psychology, history, political science, psychiatry, social psychology, and sociology. Most faculty have training in more than one field. Methodologically, the faculty is also diverse, using research tools that include intensive interviews, survey research, small-group experimentation, field observation, and systematic use of primary-source materials.
Students who wish to pursue graduate work in this area must enroll in one of the Graduate Center’s doctoral programs and are expected to meet the requirements of that program. Within that framework, the concentration has a two-stage sequence of course work.
The core course for the concentration is P SC 75000 Psychodynamics and Politics, offered by the M.A./Ph.D. Program in Political Science and the IDS program. Thereafter, students may take a variety of courses offered by participating faculty within their respective disciplines. The course offerings fall within five broad areas in the psychology of political behavior: (1) political behavior (including political leadership, social movements/mass behavior, and political decision making), (2) psycho-historical studies of political figures and movements, (3) social and psychological theory (Freud, Erikson, Adorno), (4) social psychology and politics (intergroup relations, conflict analysis, and attitude/belief systems), and (5) political psychology and policy analysis. This last area is designed to allow students to apply the theories and models of political psychology to real-world social and political issues (e.g., conflict resolution, improving decision making, nuclear issues).
The concentration supports a number of activities including conferences and a political psychology colloquium, in addition to research work with individual faculty members. Through its association with the Center for Violence and Human Survival, it offers a variety of lectures, symposia, and research opportunities concerning political psychology and policy issues related to social and political violence.
The political psychology community in the New York City area is a rich and diverse resource for the concentration. Through its consortium arrangement, students at the Graduate Center may take related courses at other universities within the New York City area. The concentration also maintains close relationships with a number of analytic institutes and clinical psychology programs, which sponsor various events of interest to students in the concentration. Fellowships and research assistantships are available through the respective doctoral programs that contribute to the concentration. For further information, contact the coordinator, Stanley Renshon.
For further information, interested students should contact Professor Stanley Renshon, Ph.D. Program in Political Science, The Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, 1-212-817-8689.
