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Evidence of Expansion
The Political Psychology Department at the University of California at Irvine (UCI) asserts the increasing emergence of landmark institutions in the specialty is proof positive of its increasing expansion. Examples of these organizations include:
Further examples are found within the psychology departments of most universities and prominent colleges; they have founded and are growing the Political Psychology specialty on their campuses to meet student demand.
The Psychological Downfall of Media Technology in Politics
As of 2016, the phenomena has reversed. The last presidential debates occurred in 2012 and according to theNielsen Rating Reportthe first airing had 67.2 million viewers. While this appears to be a small drop from the 1960 count of 70 million; the tables are turned when considering the overall population change from 180 million (1960) to 313 million (2012). The 57.5% increase in population yielded fewer views than 52 years previous; meaning the percentage of adult Americans trusting the media for information dropped from 60% to 21%. Further evidence of the situation is found in the statistics reported in recent Rasmussen Reports (2016): “61% of voters said they do not trust the political news they are getting and 59% said the coverage of the 2016 election process will be biased.”
Government leaders, aspiring politicians and those in policy making positions are currently facing a nation desperately in need of a new means of communication. If the public does not believe what it hears and reads, those governing and running for political office must develop strategies to re-establish political credibility and trust. The downfall of media technology has led political analysts, economists, political scientists, historians, candidates and the like to ask, “What is the American public doing? What are they thinking? Why are they behaving this way? How can we reach them if not through the media? What does this mean for all aspects of government?”
The questions posed also lead to the next factor which is a Disillusioned Populace.
Psychologically Disillusioned Populace
In a 2016 Gallup Report entitled “Americans' View of Situation in U.S. Remains Depressed” the prestigious polling company reported that 60% of Americans view the current political climate as negative. This percentage is only 6%-7% lower than times of the serious political unrest and dissatisfaction evidenced in the Watergate scandal of 1974 and the economy crash and gas crisis of 1979, respectively.
The New York Times recently published an article assessing Americans as not only disillusioned with “politics” in general but in democracy as well. In"Across the Globe, a Growing Disillusionment With Democracy"authors Foa and Mounk say,
“In the United States, the federal government has shut down 12 times in the last 35 years…AGallup tracking poll shows that trust in the presidency and in the Supreme Court stands at historic lows — while faith in Congress has plummeted so far that it is now in the single digits.”
When a nation is widely characterized as politically depressed, the entire political system is challenged and in danger of being compromised. Because the expertise of political science does not employ the psychological tools needed for analyzing, assessing and offering solutions for those in political power, the political machine will need a psychological overhaul. The only logical source for answers grounded in scientific processes is in the field ofpsychology; specifically that of Political Psychology.
Summary
For students who have an interest in acareer in psychologywhich involves the study of political systems, processes and phenomena the time is ripe for earning a degree in Political Psychology.
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