Political psychology is the study of political behaviour of individuals and groups in the context of what we know about human psychological characteristics. It is a discipline at the intersection of political science and psychology and includes research on various topics, such as the formation and change of political attitudes and ideologies and how these relate to political behaviour (e.g. voting or political participation more broadly), the formation of group identities and intergroup conflict, including nationalism and extremism, ethnic identities, gender roles and many other essential and problematic areas of our social and political existence. All of these topics concern the attitudes, ideas and belief systems %E2%80" ideologies %E2%80" that people hold and which thus structure political behaviour. The substantive focus of this specific course is on how attitudes and ideologies structure certain critical aspects of social interaction, group formation and intergroup conflict. The course begins with an introductory block that will give an overview of political psychology through methods that are or could be used in the discipline. This block will cover survey design, experiments and Q methodology. The substantive part of the course, structured in two blocks according to the expertise of the faculty, focuses on political attitudes/ideologies, social groups and on how social conflict emerges as an interplay of these. The course covers a perspective on intergroup conflict that pays particular attention to societal dynamics and to socially shared belief systems. Thereafter, the course will focus on examining the interplay between the individual and contextual factors that shape political attitudes and political action. We examine these factors from the perspectives of social identity theory and system justification theory. We will consider the role of personal, group and system motives in shaping political orientation and beliefs about the socio-political system, with special emphasis on regional and cultural variation. In addition to the seminars, the course also include additional activities to facilitate networking with people in this field and workshops, where the participants will present their works in progress on topics related to political psychology. For the purpose of encouraging collaboration between participants, we will organize in the beginning of the course what is called %E2%80%9Cscience speed dating%E2%80%9D, which will function to familiarise the participants with each other%E2%80%99s work, provide potential for collaboration, as well as an ice-breaker in the beginning of the event. In order to improve the potential of the participants for international publishing and research, we will organize two workshops on publishing and on grant writing. Two days of the course will be devoted to student presentations about the papers and research ideas.

Course leader
Levente Littvay, Department of Political Science / Doctoral School of Political Science, Public Policy and International Relations, Central European University, Budapest, HungaryFaculty: Aleksandra Cichocka, Keynes College, University of Kent at Can

Target group
Target groupApplications are invited from MA and PhD students, junior faculty, researchers and professionals in universities and other institutions who are working on topics related to political psychology. Undergraduates without a university degree will not be considered.Pre-requisitesThe course is open to all applicants in the general domain of social sciences who are working on topics related to political psychology. Basic training in social science research design and methods, including quantitative methods, is expected. In addition to a CV (including, where applicable, a list of publications and conference presentations) and a statement of purpose (300 word motivation statement for taking the course), applicants are required to submit with the application an outline for a research paper (500 words, see "How to apply" for more details) that is related to political psychology, preferably but not necessarily to the topics that are covered in this course. If accepted to the course, the participants are required to submit research paper draft and/or a sample of their work in progress based on the submitted outline (approximately 3000 words). The latter will be at the focus of the course through workshops, presentations and discussion.Language requirementThe language of instruction is English, thus all applicants have to demonstrate a strong command of spoken and written English to be able to participate actively in discussions at seminars and workshops.



Course aim
Political psychology (PP) as a discipline is located at the intersection of psychology how we as humans perceive, understand and react to other people and the world around us, and politics how we (mis)behave in the contexts of our political systems. It is an area of research, which has recently thrived in the Anglo-American academic world, but has remained relatively unnoticed in continental Europe, especially in the CEE region, despite people working extensively on topics that could be considered PP. This course has two aims. First, to give focused insight into core topics that are of concern to the discipline. Second, to help to develop the PP related work-in-progress of the participants into quality articles publishable in peer reviewed journals integrating CEE participants with the Western disciplinary standards and communities. The course features seminars on substantive PP topics (political ideology, group identity and intergroup conflict) by top scholars in the field as well as round table discussions on publishing and grant writing and a section of workshops for the participants to present and receive feedback on how to develop their working papers substantively and in terms of research design and methods.

Credits info
2 ECTS Our courses offer ECTS points, which may be accepted for credit transfer by the participants' home universities. Those who wish to obtain these credits should inquire about the possible transfer at their home institution prior to their enrollment. The Summer University Office will send a transcript to those who have fulfilled all the necessary course requirements and request one.

Fee info
EUR 550: payable until May 28 EUR 500: payable until April 30

Scholarships
Financial aid is available in the following categories:- tuition waiver- accommodation grant- travel grant (full or partial)

Central European University
Address: Summer University, 1051 Budapest, Nador Street 9, Hungary
Postal code: 1012
City: Budapest
Country: Hungary
Website: http://www.summeruniversity.ceu.hu/
E-mail: summeru@ceu.hu
Phone: 00-36-1-327-3811