- By: Maria Eugenia Guevara
- IX semester
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- The term Political Psychology is still new in Colombian psychological settings since
research carried out on this area is very little. In fact, the name Political Psychology
is relatively new in general, though many of the concepts introduced and contributions
made are rather old.
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- In 1978, Political Psychology becomes a scientific discipline through the establishment
of the first International Society of Political Psychology.
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- There has been a large controversy about whether Political Psychology is a new
psychological paradigm or whether research carried out on this area is truly scientific.
All these discussions have arisen from a lack of clarity in respect to the subject of
study of Political Psychology.
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- Rodrėguez et Seoane, in their book Political Psychology, state that this subject
includes many aspects such as the study of individual behaviour of professionals of
political sciences; the sense and social repercussions of cultural and ethnic identity;
the personality study related to political behaviour; the acquisition of political culture
through socialization processes; the voting behaviour; including less institutionalized
social movements that, sometimes, adopt violent forms of participating in politics,
requiring, as a consequence, analysis of different political negotiation strategies as a
tool to solve conflicts; the psychological dimensions related to political ideology; the
historical evolution of collective mentalities or the psychological processes involved in
some governmental institutions such as a the judicial system or the very political
systems, that sometimes, are interpreted as basic motivation.
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- In Political Psychology, the subject of study can be a political phenomenon analyzed
from a psychological paradigm, or a psychological phenomenon that is taking place in a
given political context. To prevent this phenomenon from becoming a psychologism or a
politicism , it is necessary to analyze it taking into account the interaction of
psychology with politics without trespassing the fields related to Political sciences,
though there exists an ample relationship not only with the subjects mentioned before but
with Social Psychology as well.
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- Regarding this aspect, last November, during the XX Internal and IV Regional Psychology
Convention, Dr. Alonso Macėas lectured about the importance that psychology bears in the
field of politics since it is in here where psychological and behavioural processes,
analyzed by General psychology are given. Besides, psychology students became interested
in doing research in this area as Senator Ingrid Betancourt admitted she has started to do
so. She stated that the role of a psychologist, in the field of politics, is not only
important but essential having in mind Colombian current situation (political violence,
corruption, and political chicanery)
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- I would really like to expand on this topic but to finish I would include some words
said by Dr. Carlos Holmes Trujillo in his article "To a State With Social
Participation" published in Gaceta Constitucional, April 15th , 1991:
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- "Since the image of an almighty state, endless
provider, has only produced frustrations because of its incapacity to generate solutions,
and due to the absence of a popular movement founded on the collective psychology,
starting from the boundaries that our condition imposes, to make this state the force that
gives impulse to the existing resources in a community organised constitutionally.
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