From authoritarian personality to system justification : elements of critical theory in psychological conceptions of intergroup hostility

W artykule zaprezentowano wybrane aspekty refl eksji krytycznej w obszarze mainstream u psychologii polityki, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem wrogości międzygrupowej. Punktem wyjścia jest krótkie omówienie obszaru badań i specyfi ki metodologicznej współczesnej psychologii krytycznej, po czym przedstawione są główne wpływy refl eksji krytycznej na psychologię polityki głównego nurtu, to jest osobowość autorytarna oraz idea stereotypów jako fałszywej świadomości w teorii uzasadniania systemu. Artykuł kończą krótkie rozważania nad przydatnością refl eksji krytycznej w obszarze badań mainstreamowej psychologii polityki.The article presents selected aspects of critical theory applied in intergroup hostility research in the mainstream of political psychology. Aims, fi elds of research and distinct methodology of critical psychology are discussed as a starting point. In the main part of the paper, the author considers the problem of authoritarian personality and the idea of stereotypes as false consciousness in the system justifi cation theory, as well as its infl uence on the mainstream political psychology research. The article ends with a short reflection on the usefulness of critical approach in contemporary political psychology

Polityka lęku? O możliwości badania polskiego dyskursu politycznego z perspektywy teorii opanowywania trwogi

Anxiety is one of the most fundamental social phenomena nowadays. It has important impact on our societies, especially after the terrorist attack of 11/9/2001. It shapes social processes and plays a vital role in political activity. It has also become significant as an object of scientific research. Among many research perspectives that take into account different causes and consequences of anxiety existence in social processes, Terror management theory (TMT) is especially inspiring and promising. According to TMT, human beings are aware of the inevitability of death and that leads them to feel an overwhelming terror. It is managed by the maintenance of cultural worldviews and high self-esteem which allows to return to psychological equanimity. Some attitudes arise when terror appears, for example: high nationalism, high conformism and acceptance for charismatic leaders. This paper considers the possibility of applying TMT in research on Polish political discourse after Smoleńsk plane crash of 10/04/2010. The constant exposition of mortality in the Polish media after the tragic flight in which 96 well known politicians and social leaders, including the President Lech Kaczyński died, should lead to reveal the mechanism described by TMT

The Fear of 10.04 in the light of opinion polls

April 10th 2010 is undoubtedly one of the most important dates in modern Polish political history. 96 high Polish officials, including President Lech Kaczynski, died in an airplane crash in Smolensk. It can be assumed that this tragedy had a great impact on political attitudes. Unfortunately, very few authors in Poland conducted empirical research on this topic. The paper addressed the issue of probable psychological consequences of Smolensk Crash on political attitudes in the light of terror management theory. On this ground it can be said that arousing of mortality awareness after April 10th should result in a widespread feeling of terror. In other words, “threat of annihilation” should occur as a consequence of recalling those who died in Smolensk in the media. One of the major mechanisms to manage such anxiety is construction and maintenance of cultural worldviews, like ideologies. It leads to the hypothesis that when threatened, people are more likely to think and act in accordance with the cultural worldviews they share. Political leaders can be seen as guards of these cultural worldviews and if it is so, then trust and support for the politicians should increase when mortality salience occurs. Some of the public opinion research conducted in the first days after Smolensk crash are used to illustrate this hypothesis

De/humanization in the processes of disintegration and reintegration : "savage" wars example

Procesy integracji, dezintegracji i reintegracji stanowią centralny problem dla procesualnego myślenia o polityce. Mają one wiele okoliczności i determinantów, wśród których miejsce szczególne zajmują kwestie związane z humanizowaniem lub dehumanizowaniem przeciwników. Artykuł podejmuje kwestie relacji między dehumanizacją i rehumanizacją a dezintegracją i reintegracją w kontekście dzikich wojen i z uwzględnieniem ich konsekwencji dla zjawisk polityzacji i depolityzacji.The processes of integration, disintegration and reintegration are central to thinking about politics in processual terms. Among many circumstances and determinants, a special place is occupied by issues related to the humanization or dehumanization of opponents. The article deals with the relationship between dehumanization-rehumanization and disintegration-reintegration in the context of savage wars and taking into account their consequences for the phenomena of politicization and depoliticization

The condition and perspectives of Polish political science in the beginning of the 21st century

The condition of political science in the beginning of the 21st century in Poland is the consequence of a number of factors, the most significant of them being Poland's communist experience (1945-1989), the post-1989 economic and political transformation as well as the changes in the organization of higher education both in terms of teaching and research. This paper covers all of those factors but its main aim is to present the state of Polish political science between 2000 and 2012. The authors present curricular and institutional changes in higher education, the number of universities providing courses in the field of political science as well as the number of students and academic staff. The paper discussed the structural and curricular changes introduced in the period in question following the Bologna Accord and the provisions of the National Framework for Higher Education Qualifications

Samotność idei? : społeczeństwo obywatelskie we współczesnym świecie

Publikacja recenzowana / Peer-reviewed publicationCelem niniejszej pracy jest próba przedstawienia kształtu obecnych relacji i stosunków między społeczeństwem obywatelskim a wspomnianymi ideami czy procesami społecznymi.Książka, którą oddajemy do rąk Czytelników jest zbiorem prac studialnych o zróżnicowanym poziomie analizy. Dla części autorów jest to próba pierwszej, samodzielnej pracy naukowo-badawczej, dla innych - kolejna okazja do podzielenia się przemyśleniami, ugruntowanymi wieloletnim doświadczeniem badawczym i studiami.Wszystkich połączyło i skłoniło do współpracy zainteresowanie tym samym - losem społeczeństwa obywatelskiego w zderzeniu z problemami współczesności

Identity (including collective identity) : the history of reflection, research scope and overview of definitions

Identity has remained a popular concept for many decades, being widely used in scientific research. This reflects not only the importance of the phenomena standing behind this notion, but also wide and deep changes accompanying the transition of societies from industrial to post-industrial, late modern, post-modern, network or information society. Regardless of the disputes about the nature of the new era, researchers agree that identities, including collective identities, play a key role in it, and the fight for the recognition of individual and social actors is an extremely important element of contemporary social processes and relations. The article presents a brief description of the most important points in the debate on identity, concerning its meaning, the subjects of identity, the dimensions of identity and the forms of its manifestations in social reality