Lasswell held that political leaders project private conflicts onto public symbols

Evidence

Harold Lasswell (1902–1978) is considered by many to be the first American political psychologist. His epoch-making Psychopathology and Politics (1930) was based on his study of the clinical files of politically active people. Lasswell argued that political leaders often project their hidden, private conflicts onto public symbols and objects, rationalizing these specific concerns in terms of general public interests. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 102

Categorization

• XREF: Lasswell’s projection-of-private-conflicts-onto-public-symbols anticipates identity-as-instrument and how essentialist claims can be vehicles for other motives — an early psychology precedent for reading strategic identity performance. — connects to: Political leaders project private conflicts onto public symbols and rationalize them as public interests. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 102

Broader Connections

• Political leaders project private conflicts onto public symbols and rationalize them as public interests. #corroborates (1.00) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 102