Beyond Rationality: Behavioral Political Science in the 21st Century

by Alex Mintz, Nicholas A. Valentino, Carly Wayne

Overview

How and why do people make political decisions? This book is the first to present a unified framework of the Behavioral Political Science paradigm. – BPS presents a range of psychological approaches to understanding political decision-making. The integration of these approaches with Rational Choice Theory provides students with a comprehensible paradigm for understanding current political events around the world. Presented in nontechnical language and enlivened with a wealth of real-world examples, this is an ideal core text for a one-semester courses in political science, American government, political psychology, or political behavior. It can also supplement a course in international relations or public policy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009014854
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	12/02/2021
Pages:	294
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x 9.92(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Alex Mintz is Former Provost and Director of the Program on Political Psychology and Decision Making (POPDM) at IDC Herzliya in Israel.

Nicholas A. Valentino is Professor of Political Science and Research Professor in the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.

Carly Wayne is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Washington University in Saint Louis.

Table of Contents

1. Living in interesting times: How can behavioral political science help us understand the current political moment?; 2. The rational actor model of political decision making; 3. The limits of human processing: Bounded rationality, heuristics and biases; 4. What you say may matter less than how you say it: The role of framing in political communication effects; 5. The limitations of the unitary actor model of government; 6. Feeling politics: How emotions impact attitudes and behavior; 7. The origins of political preferences: Material self-interest or personality, moral values and group attitudes?; 8. Better to be right or to belong? Motivated reasoning in politics; 9. Looking forward: How behavioral political science can help policymakers.

Editorial Reviews

'Political science is currently in the midst of a new behavioral revolution, and Mintz, Valentino and Wayne are three of its most exciting architects. Beyond Rationality: Behavioral Political Science in the 21st Century offers an innovative and accessible framework that unifies psychological approaches to the study of politics. Masterfully weaving across insights from multiple subfields, the book is a must-read for students of political behavior, and anyone who wants a preview of where the discipline is heading next.' Joshua Kertzer, Professor of Government, Harvard University

'In this rich and ambitious project, Alex Mintz, Nicholas Valentino, and Carly Wayne make a strong argument that major progress in the field of political psychology will be facilitated by the thoughtful integration of the two major theoretical paradigms which have dominated thinking within political science for more than sixty years. Here I am referring to Rational Choice theory and the general utility maximization approach, on the one hand, and a large and generative cluster of psychological approaches on the other hand. This impressive volume is one of the first to attempt such a grand synthesis and, as a result, made itself a must read for all those seriously interested in the dynamics of political behavior.' James Sidanius, John Lindsley Professor of Psychology in memory of William James and of African and African American Studies, Harvard University

'Mintz, Valentino, and Wayne masterfully explicate the frontier of the science of political behavior, demonstrating how insights from psychology, economics, communication studies, and political science weld into a formidable set of theories essential to understanding how politics works – in general, across domains, and with particular applications to a range of contemporary issues. As experts whose own work has defined this frontier, the authors provide a singularly comprehensive and coherent explanation of how factors such as limited information, cognitive biases, identity, and emotions shape the beliefs and decisions of political actors, including voters, candidates, terrorists, and foreign policy makers. Any reader seeking to make sense of our dizzying political world will be engaged and enlightened.' Elizabeth J. Zechmeister, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Political Science, Vanderbilt University

From the Publisher