Psychological Political Science Versus Political Psychology True to Its Name: A Plea for Balance

In our view, answering the question “What is political psychology?” requires acknowledging that there are really two very different sorts of political psychology. These two types are deWned not by substantive, conceptual, or methodological cleavages that exist in the discipline, but rather by the fundamental priorities of the research enterprise. Our goals in this chapter are threefold: (a) to clarify the distinction between the two types of political psychology; (b) to assess the prevalence of each type; and (c) to evaluate the current state of political psychology and its future potential within the framework.