The OSU Political Psychology graduate departmental specialization is one of the leading programs in the world. Our program is unique in giving coverage both to citizen political thought and behavior and to elite behavior and international politics.
Political psychology explores the role of psychological processes in the unfolding of political behavior, and the impact of political events on psychological processes. The political psychology minor program provides students with an understanding of how psychological theoretical frameworks can inform political scientists’ understanding of political events.
Faculty: Thomas Nelson
Core Courses:
Foundations of Political Psychology
Experimental Research
Courses focusing on Citizen Politics:
Public Opinion
Political Communication
Research in Public Opinion
Courses focusing on Elites and International Politics:
Research on Cognition in International Politics
Foreign Policy Design
Psychological Approaches to International relations
Methods Courses:
Research on Cognition in International Politics
Experimental Research in Political Psychology
There are also relevant courses in the Departments of Psychology, Sociology, and Economics.
Recent Ph.D. Placements:
North Carolina State University
Purdue University
Union College
Wayne State University
Recent Ph.D. Dissertations:
"The Psychological Structure of Partisanship: Affect, Cognition, and Social Identity"
"Monologues, Dialogues or Mediated Conversations? Citizens, Elites, the Media and Public Policymaking"
"Explaining the Vote: Claiming Credit and Managing Blame in the United States Senate"
"Associative Memory Structure and the Evaluation of Political Leaders"
"Cognitive Underpinnings of Political Intolerance"