MATERI BAHASA INGGRIS The Psychology of politicians
A. Definisi
Political psychology is a branch of psychology that studies how individuals and human groups influence and are influenced by political processes, political decisions, and political phenomena in general. It involves the analysis of political behavior, political motivation, political perception, and social dynamics in a political context.
B. The goals/ the purposes of study
Here are the goals or purposes of studying political psychology in relation to politicians along with some references:
1. Understanding Political Behavior: To gain insight into the behavior of politicians, including how they make decisions, form policies, and interact with constituents and other political actors.
- Reference: "The Psychology of Politicians" by Ashlea Kellner and Travis J. Pashak 2. Exploring Motivations: To uncover the psychological motivations and drives behind
political actions and choices made by politicians.
- Reference: "Political Motivation" by David P. Redlawsk
3. Examining Public Opinion: To analyze how politicians shape and are influenced by public opinion, and how they use psychological techniques in communication and persuasion.
- Reference: "Public Opinion and Political Psychology: Problems in the Integration of Theory and Research" by Donald Granberg and Soledad Espinoza
4. Assessing Leadership Qualities: To evaluate the leadership qualities and characteristics that make politicians effective or ineffective in their roles.
- Reference: "The Leadership Quarterly" (Journal) - Various articles on political leadership.
5. Predicting and Explaining Political Outcomes: To use psychological theories and methods to predict and explain political outcomes, such as election results, policy decisions, and political conflicts.
- Reference: "The Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology" edited by Leonie Huddy, David O. Sears, and Jack S. Levy
6. Enhancing Political Communication: To improve political communication strategies by understanding how politicians can effectively connect with their constituents and convey their messages.
- Reference: "The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation" by Drew Westen
7. Promoting Good Governance: To contribute to the promotion of ethical and responsible governance by studying the psychological factors that influence politicians' decision- making.
- Reference: "Psychology and Politics: A Social Identity Perspective" edited by Stephen Reicher, John Drury, and Clifford Stott
C. Approach psychology in political
The study of personality in political psychology focuses on the effects of leadership personality on decision-making, and the consequences of mass personality on leadership boundaries. Key personality approaches utilized in political psychology are psychoanalytic theories, trait-based theories and motive-based theories
1. A psychoanalytical approach
Through his theories on the unconscious motivations of behaviour, Sigmund Freud (1856–
1939) made fundamental contributions to the study of personality in political psychology.
According to Freud, a leader's behaviour and ability to make decisions are greatly influenced by how their id, ego, and superego interact with each other in their personality, as well as how they manage the pleasure principle and reality principle. The psychoanalytic method has been heavily employed in political leaders' autobiographies. Psychobiographies infer from a person's personal,
social, and political growth, beginning in childhood, in order to comprehend behaviour patterns that can be used to forecast the reasons behind and methods for making decisions.
2. A trait-based approach
Characteristics of a person's personality known as traits create predispositions to perceive and react in specific ways throughout time and in various situations.
Another examples theory for trait base apporoach; four characteristics theory from Gordon Allport and “Big Five” personality by Costa And Mc Crae
Political psychology theories suggest that a person's combination of these attributes has an impact on their leadership capacity and style. For instance, it has been shown that those with high extroversion scores have superior leadership abilities. A popular personality assessment tool for job profiling and the study of political personality is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
3. A motive-based approach
Political psychology defines motivation as goal-directed behaviour that is fueled by the need for one or more of the following: power, affiliation, intimacy, or achievement. Winter (1996) compiled these categories from Murray's (1938) list of twenty potential universal human aims. A leader's performance style is influenced by their need for power. According to Winter and Stewart (1977), those who are motivated by power more than they are by affinity or intimacy make for better presidents. In contrast, leaders who are motivated by affiliation have a tendency to work together when there is no immediate threat. Last but not least, it has been shown that political success does not correlate with achievement motivation, especially if it is greater than power motivation (Winter, 2002). Motivation between a leader and those whom they are ruling needs to be consistent with success. Motives have been shown to be correlated more highly with situation and time since last goal-fulfillment, rather than consistent traits. The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is commonly used for assessing motives. However, in the case of leadership assessment this test is more difficult to implement therefore more applicable tests are often used such as content analysis of speeches and interviews
D. Political psychology of group
Group behavior is key in the structure, stability, popularity and ability to make successful decisions of political parties. Individual behavior deviates substantially in a group setting therefore it is difficult to determine group behavior by looking solely at the individuals that comprise the group. Group form and stability is based upon several variables; size, structure, the purpose that the group serves, group development and influences upon a group.
1. Small group
Group size has various consequences. In smaller groups individuals are more committed (Patterson and Schaeffer, 1997) and there is a lower turnover rate (Widmeyer, Brawley and Carron, 1990). Large groups display greater levels of divergence (O'Dell, 1968) and less conformity (Olson and Caddell, 1994). Group performance also diminishes with size increase, due to decreased co-ordination and free-riding. The size of a political party or nation can therefore have consequential effects on their ability to co-ordinate and progress.
2. Structure group
The structure of a group is altered by member diversity, which largely affects its efficiency.
Individual diversity with in a group has proven to demonstrate less communication and therefore to increase conflict (Maznevski, 1994). This has implications for political parties based in strongly colonial or multiracial nations. Member diversity has consequences for;
status, role allocation and role strain within a group, all of which can cause disagreement.
Thus, maintenance of group cohesion is key. Cohesion is affected by several factors; the amount of time members spend in the group, the amount that members like one another, the amount of reward that the group offers, the amount of external threat to the group and the level of warmth offered by leaders. These factors should be considered when attempting to form an efficient political group. President decision efficiency for example is affected by the degree to which members of the advisory group have a hierarchical status and by the roles that each member is assigned.
3. Group function
Studying the purpose for formation of a group, whether it is serving a "functional" purpose or an "interpersonal attraction" purpose (Mackie and Goethals, 1987), has implications for political popularity. Often people join groups in order to fulfill certain survival, interpersonal, informational and collective needs. A political party that provides; stability,
clear information, offers power to individuals and satisfies a sense of affiliation, will gain popularity. Shutz's (1958) "Fundamental interpersonal relations orientation" theory suggests that groups satisfy the need for control, intimacy and inclusion. Groups also form due to natural attraction. Newcomb (1960) states that we are drawn to others close in socioeconomic status, beliefs, attitudes and physical appearance. Similarity in certain respects can thus be related to how much a person is attracted to joining one group over another.
4. Group development
Group development tends to happen in several stages; forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning (Tuckman, 1965). Group awareness of these stages is important in order for members to acknowledge that a process is taking place and that certain stages such as storming are part of progression and that they should not be discouraged or cause fear of instability. Awareness of group development also allows for models to be implemented in order to manipulate different stages. External influences upon a group will have different effects depending upon which stage the group is at in its course. This has implications for how open a group should be depending upon the stage of development it is at, and on its strength. Consistency is also a key aspect in a group for success (Wood, 1994).
5. The influence of conformity in groups
The application of conformity is key for understanding group influence in political behaviour. Decision making within a group is largely influenced by conformity. It is theorized to occur based on two motives; normative social influence and informational social influence (Asch, 1955). Chance of conformity is influenced by several factors; an increase in group size but only to a certain degree at which it plateaus, and degree of unanimity and commitment to the group. Therefore, the degree of popularity of a political group can be influenced by its existing size and the believed unanimity and commitment by the public of the already existing members. The degree by which the group conforms as a whole can also be influenced by the degree of individuation of its members. Also, the conformity within political groups can be related to the term, political coalition. Humans represent groups as if there was a special category of an individual. For example, for cognitive simplicity, ancestral groups anthropomorphize each other because they have
similar thoughts, values, and a historical background. Even though the member of a group may have an irrational or wrong argument about a political issue, there is a high possibility for the other members to conform to it because of the mere fact that they are in the same coalition.
6. The influence of power in groups
Power is another influential factor within a group or between separate groups. The "critical bases of power" developed by French and Raven (1959) allocates the following types of power as the most successful; reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, referent power and expert power. The way in which power is exerted upon a group can have repercussive outcomes for popularity. Referent power results in greater popularity of a political group or leader than coercive power (Shaw and Condelli, 1986). This has implications for leaders to manipulate others to identify with them, rather than to enforce consequential punishment. However, if coercive power is enforced, success and a trusted leader (Friedland, 1976) are necessary in order for group conflict not to escalate. Extrinsic punishment and reward are also suggested to detract from intrinsic motivation. A sense of freedom must be advocated to the group.
E. The analysis of the interrelationships between psychological and political processes.
Fundamentally, psychology is focused on better understanding the human mind and human behavior. Political psychology seeks to apply the same principle to the world of politics, examining the interplay between how people think, feel, and act — and the impact that has on how they approach political considerations.
Psychology related to politics is a method for making psychological diagnoses carried out by various methods such as observation, interviews, tests, and analysis. Political psychology is carried out with the aim of finding out the causes of attitudes carried out by a person and finding actions to overcome them. Political psychology itself is applied in various political fields using the same methods, the process is carried out by assessing an individual or a group by conducting systematic and directed activities so as to obtain objective data.
Here are some examples of the link between psychological and political processes:
1. Political Decision Making: Psychological processes such as information conveyance, risk assessment, and cognitive biases play an important role in political decision-making. For
example, the Prospect Theory by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky (1979) explains how people are often more sensitive to losses than gains in political decision-making, which can influence policy choices.
2. Political Identity: Individual political identity can be influenced by psychological factors such as group affiliation, values, and perceptions of self. Research by Tajfel and Turner (1979) on social identity theory describes how people tend to identify themselves in certain political groups, which affects their political attitudes and behavior.
3. Political Participation: Psychological processes such as motivation, social norms, and political efficacy influence individual political participation. Resource mobilization theory illustrates how psychological factors can be important predictors of political participation.
F. What a Politician does when in Public
Politicians have important responsibilities when in public. They must communicate effectively, articulate their political views and policies, and interact with citizens. Here are some things politicians should do when in public:
1. Speak Clearly and Openly: Politicians should speak clearly so that their message can be understood by everyone. They should also speak openly and honestly, avoiding drifting or manipulative rhetoric.
2. Listening and Responsiveness: Politicians should listen carefully to questions and feedback from the public. They should be willing to address citizens' questions and concerns with sincerity and depth.
3. Articulate Vision and Policy: Politicians must be able to articulate their vision for the future and their proposed policies. They should explain how the policies will affect people's lives.
4. Take Responsibility for Mistakes: Politicians must accept to admit their mistakes and take responsibility for their actions. This is an important part of maintaining integrity and public trust.
5. Working for the Common Good: Politicians should emphasize the importance of working for the common good rather than personal or party interests. They should promote cooperation and context.
6. Maintaining Ethics: Politicians should maintain high ethics in all aspects of their work.
This includes avoiding conflicts of interest and abstaining from practices that could damage their reputation.
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