Political Psychology Perspectives on Populism: Interpretations in

It collects contributions from scholars of social psychology, proposing an innovative reading of the social-cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes that can fuel populism. This book explores the different forms of populism in European countries. Starting from a theoretical point of view, the authors outline the various psycho-social precursors of populisms that have emerged from empirical investigations. Using both mainstream and critical perspectives, the book shows how the field has stimulated multiple research programs and methodologies. The opinions, attitudes, and representations of lay persons and some populist leaders are analysed through questionnaires and analysis of political communication via social media. The volume is aimed at researchers, students, and readers with good expertise on the subject. It collects contributions from scholars in the psychological-social field, proposing an innovative reading on the social-cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes that can lead to adhering to populism. Gilda Sensales is Associate Professor in Social and Political psychology at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. Her main research interests are the representations of populism, political communication between mainstream and new media, gender and sexism in politics, critical history of social psychology. This book explores the different forms of populism in European countries. Starting from a theoretical point of view, the authors outline the various psychosocial precursors of populisms that have emerged from empirical investigations. Using both mainstream and critical perspectives, the book shows how the field has driven multiple research programmes and methodologies. The authors draw on questionnaires and political communication via social media to analyse the opinions, attitudes, and representations of laypeople and populist leaders. The volume is aimed at researchers, students, and readers with expertise on the subject. It collects contributions from scholars of social psychology, proposing an innovative reading of the social-cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes that can fuel populism.