ABSTRACT
W hen social psychologists are concerned with political behavior – the common theme of the present volume – they typically focus on political orientations, specifi c attitudes, and national or groupspecifi c identities that create the potential for confl ict, harm, and discrimination. According to Wikipedia (n.d.), “political psychological theory and approaches have been applied in many contexts such as: leadership role; domestic and foreign policy making; behavior in ethnic violence, war and genocide; group dynamics and confl ict; racist behavior; voting attitudes and motivation; voting and the role of the media; nationalism; and political extremism.” The common denominator of these research topics seems to lie in manifest confl icts of interest (Hammond, 1965 ), originating in such diverse motives as social instability ( Chapter 18 , this volume), power instability ( Chapter 15 , this volume), intergroup emotions ( Chapter 11 , this volume), and sacred values ( Chapter 3 , this volume) imposing constraints on social attitudes, behavior, and their structural connections ( Chapter 2 , this volume).
