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Public Politics - Introduction |
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Political types pervade our cultures: liberal, conservative,
socialista, juene verte, anarchist. But what does it mean to say
one is a "political type"? And, what factors influence one to be
"typical" when it comes to political matters?
The
search for personality and political types has a long history.
From the Hellenistic Age to Medieval and Renaissance thought, both
medicine and personality theorists relied on typologies related to
bodily fluids (e.g., sanguine, melancholy, choleric, and phlegmatic
personality types). The political psychologist Harold Lasswell
wrote in the early 20th Century of three political types:
Administrator, Agitator, and Theorist. Temperament theorist David Keirsey has
analyzed the temperament types of U.S. presidents. More recently the
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press has proposed there are
nine political types in U.S. politics.
One
of the objectives of Political | Types is to build on this work,
particularly by exploring the relationship between Jung's psychological
types and public political orientations. Although there is little
research in this area, Consulting Psychologists Press--the publisher of
the MBTI--has published some research. These results are discussed in an article that can be found by clicking on the "Articles" link in the menu.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 12 March 2009 )
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