The Cognitive Revolution and the Political Psychology of Elite Decision Making

Abstract:     
Growing experimental evidence in cognitive psychology and behavioral economics is shaping the way political science scholars think about how humans make decision in areas of high complexity, uncertainty and risk. Nearly all those studies utilize convenience samples of university students, but insights from that work may not be directly applicable to decisions that are made by political elites. We survey the nascent empirical literature on elite decision-making and look at six areas where the insights of cognitive psychology and behavioral economics are particularly relevant for political behavior and where evidence suggests that experienced elites differ from convenience samples. These differences suggest testable implications for theories of political decision making, which we illustrate in one major area of political science theory—crisis bargaining.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 62

Keywords: Political Psychology; Foreign Policy; Elites; Behavioral Economics; Crisis Bargaining

working papers series