About CSPP
Welcome to the Center for the Study of Political Psychology (CSPP)! Located on the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota -- Twin Cities, the Center is dedicated to the establishment of a strong research community for social scientists focused on the theoretical and practical advancement of political psychology.
CSPP is widely regarded as one of the premier research and graduate training centers in the United States. CSPP receives support from the Graduate School and College of Liberal Arts, as well as the Department of Political Science.
The field of political psychology has grown rapidly in the past decade and has emerged as an important and influential area of scholarship in the social sciences. Originating in the early 1940s in psychoanalytic research on personality and politics, political psychology now involves research on political belief systems, political attitudes and behavior and, more recently, on political information processing and cognition. Political psychology in the 2000s also focuses increasingly on the role of affect and emotion and their link to political cognition and behavior.
For many years, faculty and students from several departments and colleges of the University of Minnesota shared an interest in broad themes such as political tolerance, citizenship and political participation, and political and social cognition and communication. In recent years, as part of a new University Ph.D. Minor in Political Psychology, a Political Psychology Proseminar has emerged to provide a place where these ideas can be pursued in greater depth.
Collaborations have developed, spawning several programs of research and numerous publications . It is from these unique interactions that the Center for the Study of Political Psychology was founded in 1995 to provide a more formal structure for facilitating these multidisciplinary relationships with the goal of promoting further interdisciplinary work.
The Center provides many opportunities, both scheduled and spontaneous, for interaction and intellectual exchange and aims to create an environment in which the promotion of interdiciplinary research and learning are highly valued. The rich and complex world of political behavior provides a broad context in which to bridge the gap between theoretical and applied concerns, using a vast array of methodological techniques drawn from various fields. By bringing together scholars from different disciplines, we foster diverse programs of research that draw on a range of methodologies.
Professor Leonie Huddy (SUNY-Stonybrook), political science graduate student Angie Bos, social psychology graduate student Grace Deason, and political science graduate student Monica Schneider over lunch in the political psychology proseminar. The proseminar meets weekly to discuss work and ideas of graduate students, faculty, and visiting scholars.
The Center for the Study of Political Psychology * 1325 Social Sciences Tower * 267 19th Avenue South * Minneapolis, MN 55455 * 612-624-0864 * ppcenter@umn.edu