The Political Psychology of Gender

Abstract

Abstract The goal of this chapter is to underscore how political psychology contributes to our understandings of how gender, a social construction tied to power, influences how one understands and experiences politics. We present theoretical frameworks for understanding gender and gender socialization, key measures in the field, and review empirical tests of these frameworks within the study of political socialization, public opinion, political behavior, elite behavior, and leader evaluation. The chapter highlights how political psychologists are well situated theoretically, substantively, and methodologically to address key questions in gender and politics. We highlight how the field can push forward in promising ways by broadening the definition of gender/sex and challenging the gender binary, directly testing psychological theories regarding how gender shapes the behavior of women as political actors and the evaluations of women as political leaders, and deepening the field’s emphasis on intersectional identities.