Explorations in Political Psychology

In recent decades, research in political psychology has illuminated the psychological processes underlying important political action, both by ordinary citizens and by political leaders. As the world has become increasingly engaged in thinking about politics, this volume reflects some exciting new work by political psychologists to understand the psychological processes underlying Americans’ political thinking and action.

The contributors are all world-class scholars who present new in-depth work exploring public opinion, social movements, attitudes toward affirmative action, the behavior of political leaders, the impact of the 9/11 attacks and of scientists’ statements about global warming and of gasoline prices. In addition, studies of attitude strength compare the causes and consequences of various strength-related constructs.

The volume will appeal to a wide range of researchers and students in political psychology and political science, and may be used as a text on upper-level courses requiring a scholarly and contemporary state-of-the-art review of many of the main issues in the field.

Jon Krosnick, Ph.D., is Frederic O. Glover Professor in Humanities and Social Sciences at Stanford University, Professor of Communication, Political Science, and Psychology, and Director of the Stanford Methods of Analysis Program in the Social Sciences. Author of four books and more than 140 articles and book chapters, Dr. Krosnick conducts research in three primary areas: (1) attitude formation, change, and effects, (2) the psychology of political behavior, and (3) the optimal design of questionnaires used for laboratory experiments and surveys, and survey research methodology more generally. Dr. Krosnick's scholarship has been recognized with the Phillip Brickman Memorial Prize for Research in Social Psychology, the Midwest Political Science Association's Pi Sigma Alpha Award, the Erik Erikson Early Career Award for Excellence and Creativity in Political Psychology, and a fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences.