Political Psycology

Course objectives

2 Educational goals 2.1 General goals The course enables to master the knowledge of various research trends and traditions operating within political psychology, viewed from the standpoint of social psychology too. More in detail, the lectures will indicate how to compare the mainstream tradition with the critical one relative to the different constructs/themes studied in political psychology. Later, such comparison will be required in the various practical activities (reports on specific topics discussed in the adopted texts for the exam preparation, and implementation and execution of a field investigation with final report). In this way, the student will develop special skills in managing complexity, against any reductionist approach. 2.2 Specific goals 2.2.1 Knowledge and understanding The course intends to develop knowledge and understanding skills, that will allow to examine in depth the discussed themes by reading and commenting the primary sources; so the student will be able to better know and understand the original thought of the various writers, going beyond the mere superficial study. 2.2.2 Applying knowledge and understanding At the end of the course, the student will be able to read the socio-political phenomena, both contemporary and past, with a psychological and social equipment able to propose innovative points of view for the solution of specific problems. 2.2.3 Making judgements The historical review, related to the genesis of the main theoretical perspectives, will supply the cultural background for a different perception about the evolution of the scientific knowledge and of its relationship with ethical and social imperatives subjected to important changes over the time. 2.2.4 Communication skills After an initial stage organised in lectures, it is planned the simulation of a research whose final results must be presented to a hypothetical customer who is not expert in political psychology. In this way, the student can prove to master a language that makes the main obtained results understandable to inexpert persons. Along this activity, PowerPoint presentations about themes discussed in the texts for the exam preparation are planned. Such reports must summarise the chosen theme, being in the same time an in-depth analysis, with at least a contribute in English. 2.2.5 Learning skills By means of the implementation and the execution of a field investigation and the report related to it, as well as the presentation of an intervention/report on a specific theme, the student will improve his/her skills in autonomously managing the different learning stages of psychological knowledge.

Channel 1
GILDA SENSALES Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
Course content The course is divided into two parts. The first part includes presenting political psychology's historical and theoretical background and reading and commentary on passages taken from "classics" of political psychology (texts, for example, by Sighele, Tarde, Le Bon, Wallas, Orano, Miotto). This part is an illustration and in-depth analysis of the handout "The Field of Political Psychology in Historical Perspective" included among the texts for preparing for the exam. The second part is dedicated to the reports/presentations of the students (individuals or in groups of a maximum of two members), directly supervised by the teacher and based on specific themes taken from the other two texts adopted for the course. Finally, conferences, debates, and book presentations held by experts in the sector are planned.
Prerequisites
Knowledge of basic psycho-social literature and the ability to fluently master the English language, at least in its written form, is essential.
Books
To avoid the theoretical study being postponed to the period immediately preceding the examination during the meetings, it will be specified which part of the texts will be referred to allow the student to familiarize himself with the topics covered before the panels themselves or to check what they have learned during the lessons through a reading immediately following. • Catellani P., Sensales G. (a cura di) (2011). "Psicologia della political". Milano: Raffaello Cortina (euro 28, pp. 361). • Sensales, G. (Ed.) (2023). "Political Psychology Perspectives on Populism". Palgrave Macmillan. * Sensales G. (2024). Lecture notes: “Il campo della psicologia politica in prospettiva sotrica”. The lecture notes are freely downloadable from the teacher's page on the Sapienza Study Courses website.
Teaching mode
Methods of teaching The content and methods of teaching are closely related to each other and, at the level of the method in which the teaching is structured, there is a combination of lectures, including seminars, preparation of papers and/or research, practical activities both individual and of group, simulations of empirical investigations. By integrating these different teaching models, the training offer will be able to satisfy the training objectives described above. The teaching can be delivered entirely in person or foresee a mixed modality "in presence" and "remote" through "public" meet sessions in which all students will meet with the teacher and "private" in which students will meet each other to carry out the various planned activities, the results of which will be reported later in the public meet.
Frequency
Optional, but strongly recommended.
Exam mode
Through multiple-choice/open-ended questions, the exam will verify the knowledge relating to the different currents and traditions of research within political psychology, focusing on both mainstream and critical approaches. The test will explore learning related to the Handbook "Psychology of Politics", the themes of populism in the volume in English, and the historical survey proposed in the lecture notes. There is a single test for all students, scheduled in several sessions starting from the end of the course. For attending students only, the presentations will be evaluated out of thirty (this evaluation will concern both the PowerPoint and the performance of the individual speakers) and the practical activity (assessed with a single score relating to both the ongoing activity and the final phase which will produce a final report). To reward this dual commitment, the two scores will only average with the exam grade if they are higher than the latter. Otherwise, they will be ignored.
Lesson mode
Methods of teaching The content and teaching methods are closely related to each other. At the level of how the learning is structured, there is a combination of lectures, including seminars, preparation of papers and research, and practical activities, both individual and group, simulations of empirical investigations. By integrating these different teaching models, the training offered will be able to satisfy the training objectives described above. All teaching will be delivered face-to-face.
  • Lesson code1044862
  • Academic year2024/2025
  • CoursePsychology of Communication and Marketing
  • CurriculumSingle curriculum
  • Year2nd year
  • Semester1st semester
  • SSDM-PSI/05
  • CFU9
  • Subject areaPsicologia sociale e del lavoro