Political Psychology - Article summary [UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM]

The narratory principle states that humans, think, perceive, imagine and make moral choices according to narrative structures. This principle can resolve the analytic problem of linking mind and society.

Narrative refers to the sensible organization of thought through language, internalized or externalized, which serves to create a sense of personal coherence and collective solidarity and to legitimize collective beliefs,

There are three limitations to theory and research in intergroup relations:

1. There is a tendency to focus on feelings and perceptions rather than behaviour.
   There are a lot of theories that attempt to predict strong negative feelings in groups of disadvantaged people. This is not focused on the behaviour as a result of the strong

The risk of collective action is polarization between groups. Muslim immigrants are expected to assimilate in the host culture which makes it more difficult to use collective action. Social embeddedness might provide individuals with the resources needed to invest in collective action.

Grievances refer to a sense of indignation about the way authorities are treating a social

In crowds, loss of identity (1), loss of rationality (2) and a loss of morality (3) are thought to occur. Mass society theory states that physical and social divisions between classes makes social order difficult to maintain as people might become vulnerable to manipulation and especially powerful in one single group when freed from a rigid hierarchical order.

Radicalisation refers to the process by which people come to support violent extremism and in some cases join terrorist groups. Risk refers to the processes by which the world is ordered in terms of danger, rather than objective threat.

The UK PREVENT strategy of terrorist attacks is focused on protection against major disruptive events. There is

Significance loss occurs in situations that make one feel ashamed, humiliated or demeaned. These situations are inconsistent with the desire for a positive self-image and instil a sense of uncertainty about the self. This leads to motivation for people to seek certainty and closure that affords the restoration of personal significance. This can lead to increased interest in

Hatred, anger and fear are central in intractable conflicts. Members of a society involved in an intractable conflict share and repeatedly experience these emotions. These emotions also play an important role in shaping the societal context and in guiding group members’ behaviour in response to conflict events.

Group-based hatred helps to interpret events (i.e. appraisal) and

It is often thought that during the Rwandan genocide, the radio conditioned, facilitated and legitimized violence and became a tool for the mobilization of genocide. It is also often thought that the radio was a voice of authority.

The claim that the radio indirectly instilled ideas that led to violence and issued orders that directly led

Intergroup apologies have increased significantly since the second world war. A failure to acknowledge transgressions of the past can breed intergroup conflict in the future. High levels of collective guilt promote greater intentions to compensate for an historical transgression.

For the victim, intergroup apologies represent an acknowledgement of past harm (1), an affirmation of shared moral standards

A truth and reconciliation committee (TRC) are temporary non-judicial institutions where perpetrators and victims can express themselves in order to increase understanding and empathy after a conflict (e.g. civil war, genocide).

Durkheim’s model of collective rituals states that collective rituals involve both at a time group symbols (e.g. flags) and collective expression (e.g. singing). The simultaneous

The theory of affective intelligence states that an individual’s emotions help govern a reliance on political habits or govern deliberation and attention to new political information. A dispositional system of emotion incorporates people’s normal feelings about things. Dispositions are guided by enthusiasm and aversion.

A surveillance system of emotion manages attention. It relies on anxiety, fear

The bandwagon effect refers to voters increasing their support for the ‘winner’ in election polls. The underdog effect refers to voters increasing their support for the ‘loser’ in election polls.

Emotional excitement (1), enthusiasm of the crowd (2) and defection to avoid disappointment (3) are causes for the bandwagon effect. Media messages may evoke emotions which