Understanding Self-Interest: A Concept Bridging the Gap between Psychology and Politics

TLDR: The Integrated Model of Self-Interest as discussed by the authors is a theoretical framework for understanding the conditional effects of self-interest within the dynamic political context, and it has implications for several important political processes such as the representation of interests, the translation of public opinion into public policy, and political participation.

Abstract: Jennifer Kirstin Benz: Understanding Self-Interest: A Concept Bridging the Gap between Psychology and Politics (Under the direction of Thomas M Carsey) Self-interest is a concept germane to many theories in economics, political science, and psychology. Although somewhat obscured by different terminology, such as vested interest or personal relevance, the function of self-interest as a motivating force for individuals is prominent in some of the most widely discussed and contested social science theories of this generation. While many of these theories assume self-interest as a prime motivator of individual thought and behavior, other theories challenge that notion directly. Furthermore, empirical evidence can be readily cited to support both positions. Evidence in social psychology research supports the notion of self-interest as an important and relatively consistent force in the formation, structure, and expression of attitudes. However, a more disjointed body of empirical evidence in the political science literature finds selfinterest to be an inconsistent and relatively weak predictor of political and policy attitudes and behavior. In this dissertation, I argue that the self-interest puzzle exists because political scientists have done a poor job of incorporating the psychology of self-interest into their theories while social psychologists have failed to appreciate the complexities of social contexts, like politics, into their theories. I develop the Integrated Model of Self-Interest to overcome the theoretical and methodological differences between the two disciplines and provide a theoretical framework for understanding the conditional effects of self-interest within the dynamic political context. Through analysis of public opinion data and survey-based experiments, I find that the realities of the political context condition the effects of self-interest seen in the psychological literature, but important indirect effects are realized at the individual and aggregate levels. The findings have implications for several important political processes such as the representation of interests, the translation of public opinion into public policy, and political participation.