Outline of a Cultural History of Political Psychology

Abstract

If psychology is the science of the experience, the behavior, and the interaction of individuals and groups, then political psychology is the science of the political experience, the political behavior, and the political interaction of individuals and groups. Science attempts to objectively study certain phenomena: it tries to transcend an author’s idiosyncracies and reach a larger consensus. Experience, behavior, and interaction constitute the subjective elements of individuals and groups: they are part and parcel of one’s unique existence in history and society. In this sense, political psychology attempts to make an objective study of political subjectivity.