ABSTRACT
Diversity and electicism characterize the conceptual and methodological armamentarium of the political psychologist who analyzes international politics. Extensive research has accrued on the various subjects pertinent to a research program revolving around the core concepts of political psychology and psychophysiology. As is customary in social scientific inquiry, however, the existing work is disparate, uneven, and often ad hoc in nature. Psychological and psychophysiological/biopolitical variable areas both restrict the focus of attention to the individual. Margaret Hermann presents research on a variety of prominent "personal characteristics" of elite decision-makers in a number of substantive policy areas; L. S. Falkowski provides foreign policy-relevant examples. Since major foreign policy decisions are generally the product of individuals and/or small groups, the small group subfield of social psychology is an obvious potential component of a political psychology research design. The work of I. L. Janis on groupthink is the best known of the various studies of foreign policy-making and group dynamics.
