Let's remember what we saw on television, what we read in textbooks, and what we heard from our elders in the past few years. Since the time when humans began to live together on earth, there have been hundreds of wars, thousands of states have been established, and dozens of countries have collapsed. Borders changed, relationships developed, eras closed and new eras opened. Millions of people moved away from their lifestyles and even the lands they lived in as a result of political changes. Political science lies at the basis of all these developments that radically affect humanity. Politics, on the other hand, cannot be considered separately from humans and therefore from the psychological processes that affect human behavior. This situation has led to the emergence of the field of 'Political Psychology' (also known as 'Political Psychology').
Political Psychology; It examines the relationships between large groups, masses and nations and evaluates the psychological factors that play a role in these relationships. However, political psychology also examines the psychological dimensions of the relations between large groups and nations and their leaders (Çevik, 2010).
There is a tendency for people to divide into groups and perceive their own group as superior to other groups (Demirtaş). , 2003). By identifying with the characteristics of the group to which we belong, we exaggerate our differences with the outgroup. We see the group we belong to as superior to other groups. This situation gives rise to the concept we call 'social identity'.
Human behavior is always influenced by the presence of other objects and people, it is social. The individual affects society and society affects the individual. When we enter a group and identify with that group, individual identity gives way to social identity. Individuals begin to define themselves according to the characteristics of the social group they are a member of and focus on their similarities with other group members. For example, when defining ourselves, we indicate the group we feel we belong to by using sentences such as 'I am a communist, I am an idealist, I am a member of association x, I am a Muslim, I am a feminist'. This distinction is also reflected in our behavior over time. As members of certain social classes, we often begin to act in masses.
These masses are sometimes political formations. They are usually guided by a leader. each other through the ages Many groups have formed with different or similar views. The groups are not isolated from each other. All groups are still part of society and interact with each other. Just as people cannot live together without problems, sometimes disagreements occur between groups. Generally, the reason for disagreements between two groups is the problems that arise in the distribution of resources. Disagreements can lead to conflicts and even wars, depending on the influence of the groups.
Just as mental processes underlie human behavior, psychological processes also underlie mass movements. Political psychology studies the psychological processes underlying the movements of masses. While doing this, he looks at large groups and nations as if they were a single person. When a group is in conflict, it has a psychological background and this results from unconscious behaviors ( İnan, 2009 ). Just as the first step in solving problems between people is understanding the other party, understanding the psychological processes underlying behavior is essential for solving problems between masses. Political psychology can contribute to the psychological health of the nation by determining the role psychological processes play in the political system and explaining how changes should occur ( Milburn, 1998 ). From this perspective, the field of political psychology can be seen as a strategy that we use to put an end to conflicts that we have not been able to solve for years and for which we have sacrificed many lives.
The field of political psychology is not only composed of psychologists. Scientists working in various fields such as political science, sociology, international relations, anthropology, journalism, communication, history, economics, psychology and psychiatry unite and work together under the umbrella of 'Political Psychology'.
In addition, the field of political psychology is also used for psychological warfare purposes. Psychological warfare aims to weaken the opposing party without engaging in any armed conflict. For this, it is necessary to know the points where the other party can be used psychologically. By identifying the weak points of a society through political psychology, superiority can be achieved.
Politic We can list other topics that human psychology is interested in under short headings as follows:
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What is leadership? How should it be? What are the leadership qualities?
The masses are directed by a person or people to ensure that the groups achieve their goals. The people who direct the groups are leaders. Leadership is a dynamic human activity and involves the use of power. There are qualities that leaders must have in order to use power and take an active role in relations with people. Political psychology conducts research on the characteristics that determine the authority level of leaders. (For example, intelligence level, oratory ability, self-confidence, physical appearance, adaptation capacity, etc.)
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What are the contributions and effects of the media on individual political preferences and public opinion formation?
As it is known, the period from the 1990s to the present is called the 'Information Age'. The rise of society is based on knowledge. Additionally, many products and services are intertwined with information and communication technologies. Our attitude towards an event or situation can change depending on the way this event is presented to us. The extent to which the news bulletins we watch from different channels every day and the columns we read from different authors affect our political attitudes and their degree of effectiveness in forming public opinion are among the research topics of Political Psychology.
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Racism. And Understanding Ethnocentrism and Investigating the Cause of Discrimination
The term Ethnocentrism was introduced by William Sumner and can basically be described as the individual's basing his/her own group's cultural values and beliefs when evaluating external groups. As societies, our religious beliefs, culinary culture, management style and traditional values are different from each other. When evaluating another society, something that seems very normal to the people of that society may seem abnormal to us (For example, when we criticize the cuisine of Far Eastern countries because 'they eat insects'). Likewise, a situation that seems normal to us may be considered abnormal to other groups (for example, Eid al-Adha is seen as brutality). Because their status as belonging to the outgroup is valued We base our work on our own group. Ethnocentric views can lead to racism. We despise other groups, seeing our own group and nation as superior. Ethnocentrism and racism have caused many political incompatibilities, wars, genocides and terrorism throughout history.
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Political Intolerance And Fanaticism
Tolerance; It is the state of not interfering physically or verbally with other people who have religious or non-religious beliefs, moral values, world views or sexual orientations that are different from the individual's own (Barsak, 2010). As people with different political views, we need the principle of tolerance to live in peace and tranquility in society. No authority can force someone whose political views are not similar to their own to think like themselves. However, we see that this situation can be experienced at the level of physical abuse by individuals we call 'political fanatics' in society.
Existentially, man places a meaning, image, and sacred at the center of his life. This sacred thing has great value for the person and is indispensable for the person. When a person cannot find this sacred one, he feels the need to connect to another image. This could be a football team, a political party, an ideology, the leader of one's own group, and so on. We can talk about fanaticism when a person becomes excessively attached to a political party and starts making it the center of the universe rather than making it the center of his life. A political fanatic looks at all thoughts except his own political thought with hatred. He thinks that people who do not embrace his political views are betraying his in-group. He holds those who think differently than him responsible for the negative events that occur around him. And whenever he can, he tends to punish other people for 'betraying his own group'. Some do this by using physical violence, some by publishing or writing articles that will provoke the masses with physical force. This thought gives rise to Political Intolerance. Society is polarized by millions of individuals who cannot tolerate people who 'have political thoughts that do not think like them'. Being attached to a person, idea, place or object is natural, it is in human nature. But to history When we look at it, excessive attachment at the level of fanaticism has caused the death of millions (Hitler's Germany can be given as an example of this situation).
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Perception Management Used for Military Strategy Purposes '
Perception management covers all kinds of actions taken to influence the attitudes of foreigners and their ability to think objectively and consists of public diplomacy, psychological operations, public information, deception and covert action activities (Collins, 2003 ). In his article titled "Mind Games" dated 2003, Lieutenant Colonel Steven Collins, Head of PSYOPS-Psychological Operations at NATO Allied Forces Headquarters Europe, stated that political psychology was used for the purpose of perception management, which is an application area of communication management. Media and communication tools are extensively used in perception management activities.
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