Political psychology can improve decision-making by analyzing past policy failures

Evidence

The work of political psychologists has the capacity to improve decision-making procedures and outcomes in political domains such as domestic affairs and foreign policy (e.g., Renshon & Larson, 2003; Tetlock, 1986; Tyler, 1990). Progress comes in part from analyzing past mistakes, such as the Kennedy administration’s mishandling of the Cuban Missile Crisis or the Nixon administration’s decision to authorize a burglary of the Watergate offices of the Democratic National Committee (e.g., Cialdini, 2001; Janis, 1982). Because political psychologists study the vices and virtues of human reasoning, they are in a good position to consider implications for how difficult and complex decision-making tasks should be structured and executed by individuals and groups (e.g., Dawes, 1998; Jervis, 1976; Sniderman, Brody, & Tetlock, 1991; Stein, 1988). — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2379

Categorization

• XREF: Ties to groupthink literature (Janis 1982) and the Kennedy/Nixon case studies that exemplify decision failures.