Political psychology is one of those areas of psychology that, not having such a well-defined object of study as other branches of psychology, seems to fade into the ambiguity of the social sciences. However, this does not mean that it is not relevant.

In fact, thanks to his joint work with areas of knowledge such as sociology and anthropology, he is able to better understand what is happening in an increasingly globalised world, with ever wider and ultimately social conflicts.

We will now look at the functions, characteristics and main problems of political psychology .

Political Psychology: a definition

Political psychology is a difficult concept to define, and the diffusion of its limits and structural characteristics has meant that for years this term has been used to refer to different things.

However, a definition that is as specific as it is complete is that made by Luis A. Oblitas and Ángel Rodríguez Krauth (1999): political psychology is the area of psychology that is in charge of analyzing phenomena of a political nature from their psychological aspects : the perception of corruption, the political discourse of parties, social movements and pressure groups, identification with reference groups or leaders, etc.

But a simple definition is not enough to understand what the distinctive characteristics of this branch of psychology are. First of all, we must take into account its relationship with historical processes and with social psychology.

The importance of historical processes

Some people have a conception of psychology that relates it more to biology than to the social sciences. From this point of view, this would be a science that studies neural structures that, being inside our body, emit behaviors, in the same way that a gland produces saliva.

While it is true that psychology is not strictly a social science in its entirety, the above view of the profession of psychologists is wrong. This is because psychology is the study of behavior, and as far as human beings are concerned, human behavior is never born spontaneously inside bodies, but is always modulated by the historical context in which people live. The same person is very different depending on the place and moment in which he or she is born. For example, what is considered misogynist behavior today could have been considered normal just a century ago.

In short, our way of being is not separate from the flow of events that occur around us, and much of this is of a social and political nature.

On the other hand, the actions we take also contribute to changing the context in which we live. As a consequence, the object of study of political psychology, and of social psychology, is constantly changing. This means that its approach to what happens cannot be the same as that of the exact sciences , which analyse phenomena whose components are more or less invariable, and which must use a probabilistic approach when investigating. In turn, this fact brings political psychology closer to other disciplines that study social phenomena, such as anthropology and sociology.

Political psychology or the politics of psychology?

We must bear in mind that people who are involved in political psychology are very sensitive to the way in which political phenomena influence our way of thinking. Of course, studying the processes of interaction between politically mobilised ethnic groups in today’s Spain is not the same as doing so in Hitler’s Germany. Science is also a human and social activity , and therefore it is not totally isolated from these influences.

Therefore, one of the objectives of political psychology is also to analyze the way in which political processes, throughout history or in the present, contribute to certain models of human behavior gaining strength to the detriment of others, which lose support.

In short, political psychology always tries to direct efforts towards self-criticism about the assumptions from which it starts, the epistemological approach it uses when it comes to reaching conclusions, and the effects that placing more emphasis on some study topics than on others can have at any given time.

Its forms of application: examples

It may seem that political psychology is content to understand certain social phenomena by reaching abstract and not very brave conclusions, since it works from concepts that are very difficult to study, since they are always changing and have not very concrete limits (where does humour end and chauvinism begin in certain propaganda initiatives, for example?) However, this does not have to be the case.

Political psychology can be used, for example, to make forecasts about future movements that will make mobilized collectives, or to measure the degree of racism and xenophobia that appear in certain party and group discourses (the consequences of this have been clear throughout history).

In turn, it also serves to know what the chances are that a regressive movement will emerge in a generally progressive country, or vice versa, a progressive one in one anchored in religious fundamentalism and nationalist essentialisms.

In short, political psychology, while far from being infallible, serves to reach very important conclusions, since it tells us about phenomena that have the capacity to affect thousands or millions of people.

Bibliographic references:

  • Oblitas, L. and Rodríguez Kauth, A (1999): Political Psychology. Mexico City: Plaza y Valdés.