Putting the Political Back in Political Psychology: The Promise and Peril of Evolutionary Theory for Explaining Political Behavior

Presenter/Moderator: Eric Oliver, University of Chicago (co-sponsored with CAPS)

When: March 7, 2008, 11:00-12:30

Location: CGIS, 1737 Cambridge Street Room N401, Cambridge, MA (Map)

Series: Political Psychology and Behavior Workshop

Abstract:

This paper outlines the strengths and weaknesses of an evolutionary approach to political psychology. Given the demands on cooperation and social coordination in human evolutionary history, it is likely that numerous psychological traits are adaptations to, rather than mere predecessors of, human political behavior and that these evolved traits continue to shape modern political cognition. Differentiating between adapted and learned traits, however, remains a difficult prospect. Using the example of political values, I discuss the possible insights that an evolutionary approach may offer and what types of questions need to be answered.