The Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Political Science

The Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Political Science examines the factors that help to explain the political decisions and behavior of individuals, leaders, and states. What motivates individuals to participate in elections? What factors influence their support for a particular individual or political party? What are the cognitive, motivational, emotional, and psychological processes that go into leaders'' decisions regarding war and peace? Does biology play a role in political orientation? Integrating ideas from different fields, such as economics, psychology, and communications the work in the Handbook provides a deep view into the thinking processes and behavior of decision makers.

The Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Political Science sketches the landscape of a new approach to political science: Behavioral Political Science (BPS). The work in the volume shows that ideas from different fields help to explain many of the phenomena scholars have observed with respect to political decision-making and behavior that deviate from the traditional rational choice models that have dominated the field of political science for decades. Showcasing leading scholars, The Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Political Science highlights the rich theoretical and methodological underpinnings of behavioral political science research. The Handbook provides an overview of the origins and evolution of behavioral political science to date; explores its substantive and theoretical boundaries; addresses its key theoretical and methodological approaches; and summarizes key findings and insights as applied to empirical phenomena. It does so by delineating the theoretical boundaries of the field, presenting its assumptions, concepts and theories, examines how these apply empirically, and covers some of the basic methodological approaches used. This collection is a vital resource for scholars, researchers, students, and the policy community seeking to understand and utilize behavioral political science in their own work.