Beyond Rationality: Behavioral Political Science in the 21st Century

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Session Description

Session Title: Beyond Rationality: Behavioral Political Science in the 21st Century

Brief Overview: This roundtable is an author-meets-critics type event but for a book that has been published. We will be reviewing the book Beyond Rationality: Behavioral Political Science in the 21st Century by Alex Mintz, Nicholas Valentino & Carly Wayne. Panelists will discuss the BPS field & potential growth areas.

How and why do people make decisions relating to politics? This roundtable will explore this core question using an author-meets-critics framework to discuss the recently published book Beyond Rationality: Behavioral Political Science in the 21st Century by Alex Mintz, Nicholas Valentino and Carly Wayne. This textbook is the first to present a unified framework of the Behavioral Political Science paradigm, which encompasses a range of psychological approaches to understanding political decision-making. The roundtable will focus on the advantages and disadvantages of the BPS framework as described in the book, including potential synergies with other research traditions - such as Rational Choice Theory - and various methodologies, including formal theory. Panelists will discuss the major benefits of behavioral approaches to political science as well as review areas of limitations, with the aim of identifying key growth areas for the field of BPS. The roundtable will also explore possibilities for the application of BPS findings to public policy, reflecting on both its potential promises and limitations.

Abstract: This roundtable is an author-meets-critics format, reviewing the book Beyond Rationality: Behavioral Political Science in the 21st Century by Alex Mintz, Nicholas Valentino & Carly Wayne. Panelists will discuss the BPS field & potential growth areas.

Keywords: Behavioral Political Science; Political Psychology; Experiments; Formal Models; Public Opinion; Foreign Policy Decision-Making; Intergroup Relations; Conflict

Sub Unit

• Division 5: Political Psychology

Chair

• Nicholas A. Valentino University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Presenters

• Gabriel Lenz UC Berkeley

• Alex Mintz Interdisciplinary Center, IDC

• Howard Lavine University of Minnesota

• Ryan D. Enos Harvard University

• Carly Nicole Wayne Washington University in St. Louis

• Jack S. Levy Rutgers University

• Eric Groenendyk University of Memphis

• Antoine J. Banks University of Maryland