Download individual-level analysis

Focus of the study are the human
as a species and as individuals.
People who make policy.
To understand the human
decision-making process.
To know how people make
decisions, will lead to
understanding on how
international politics works.
How do fundamental human
characteristics influence policy?

Humans seldom if ever make a purely
rational decision.
Ex. Choosing the college you will
attend.
Human as a Specie
Cognitive factors

Seeking Cognitive Consistency
Decision makers tend to ask cognitive
consistency by discounting ideas and
information that contradict their existing views.

Wishful Thinking
To justify in their minds decisions that they
have made or wish to make, humans often tell
themselves that their choice will succeed.
Human as a Specie
Cognitive factors

Using Heuristic Devices
Humans utilize heuristic devices, which are
mental shortcuts that allows us to skip long and
detailed gathering and analysis of information and
come to decisions quickly.
2 Types of Heuristic Device
Stereotype
Analogies- comparisons between new situations
or people and situations or people that we have
earlier experienced or otherwise have learned
about.
Human as a Specie
Emotional factors

As much as it might be comforting to imagine
decision makers as coolly rational, the reality is that
they are subject to the same emotions as everyone
else.
Psychological factors

Humankind has a number of common
psychological traits that also help explain why
feelings and decisions are usually less than fully
rational.
frustration-aggression theory- argues that
individuals and even societies that are frustrated
sometimes become aggressive.
Human as a Specie
Biological factors

Although they are highly controversial, various
biological theories provide yet another way to
explain why human decisions fall short of being
fully rational .
Ethology- the comparison of animal and
human behavior.
Gender- the possibility that some differences
in political behavior are related to gender
How people act in organizations.
Role behavior
All people play a variety of roles based on
our attitudes about the positions we have and
behaviors we adopt in them.
Group Decision Making
People behave differently in organizations
than they would act if they were alone.
Causes of Groupthink- avoiding
psychological isolation is one cause of group
think.
Effects of Groupthink- its one impact is
that it limits policy choices.
Focuses on humans as individuals
and how each leader’s personal
characteristics help shape his or her
decisions and, therefore events.
Personality
Scholars examine leader’s basic orientations
toward self and toward others.
Physical and mental Health
A leader’s physical and mental health can
be important factors in decision making.
Ego and Ambition
The egos and personal ambitions of
political leaders can also influence especially
the male variety, sometimes works to make
leaders want to appear thought.
Personal Experiences
Decision makers are also affected by their
personal experience.
Perceptions
Decision makers’ images of reality
constitute a fifth idiosyncratic element that
influences their approach to foreign policy.
Perceptions
Characteristics of Perceptions
- Numerous common perceptual
characteristics influence the policy making of
individuals and even the policy preferences of
nations.
Perceptions
4 Common Characteristics of Perceptions
We often assume that others see the world
the same we do.
We tend to see the behavior of others as more
planned and coordinated than our own.
We find it hard to understand why others
dislike, mistrust , and fear us.
We and others tend to have similar images of
one another.
Perceptions
Perceptions and policy
-Perceptions translate into policy because
they form an operational reality.
-Policy makers tend to act or operate
based on perceptions, whether they are
accurate or not.