ISPP Political Trends

The International Society of Political Psychology is a not for profit organization that focuses on the research and theory that involves politics and psychology. Reynolds sets up her premise by talking about how ISPP is growing. Through this growth, there are somethings that change and Reynolds pointed out the growing number of women in ISPP and how diverse its members are. In the culmination of their research, Reynolds pointed out a few trends of where political psychology is going. There are three classifications: erosion of scientific rationalism, measurement and prediction, and common theoretical assumptions that humans are political animals.

Erosion of Scientific Rationalism

Rationalism is the belief that our opinion or actions should be based around reason and knowledge rather than religious beliefs or emotional response. Reynolds goes on to talk about why people are leaning away from scientific evidence is due to their own personal values. If the scientific facts don't support their way of thinking, it is simply ignored.

Measurement and Predictions

The use of social media is a growing trend for researchers to gather data. Social media is also a platform that can bring like minded individuals together with similar beliefs and interest. The media footprint that someone has can give a ton of information about the individual, For example, their political affiliation, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc.

Humans are Political animals

Political Animal or Political Animals is a term used by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle in his Politics to refer to a human being. In his Politics, Aristotle believed man was a "political animal" because he is a social creature with the power of speech and moral reasoning: Hence it is evident that the state is a creation of nature, and that man is by nature a political animal. There are characteristics that Reynolds pointed out. One is the environment, "emphasizing the role of leaders, the media, influential role models, family, peers and cultural factors in shaping worldviews" (Reynolds). The second and third characteristic is finding like minded individuals to form a group and then push their ideology to the rest of the world