Lectures on Political Psychology by Hadi Samadi

"Political Psychology" was offered to first-semester undergraduate political science students in 2020 over ten sessions. The first session is dedicated to defining politics. The second session points to two general categories of psychological explanations in accounting for political behaviors. The third session draws on Skinner's behaviorism to explain political behaviors. The fourth session addresses the causes of human obedience. The fifth session is an account of one of the most famous experiments in the history of psychology, known as the Stanford prison experiment. The sixth session discusses how politicians make decisions in think tanks and explains how they sometimes arrive at such incorrect decisions. The seventh session is dedicated to the psychological profiles of politicians, and the eighth session introduces the famous right-left dichotomy. The ninth session continues the discussion of the dichotomy and explains why politicians do not listen to their opponents. The final session touches upon biological approaches to politics.

Psychological Foundations of Politics, Session One

Defining Politics

Psychological Foundations of Politics, Session Two

Political Behavior: The Masses vs. the Elites;

Homo Economicus and Homo Psychologicus;

Situationism vs. Dispositionism

Psychological Foundations of Politics, Session Three

Skinner's Behaviorism, Free Will

Psychological Foundations of Politics, Session Four

The Psychology of Obedience

Psychological Foundations of Politics, Session Five

The Stanford Prison Experiment