What motivated Dr. McConochie to study political psychology after years as a clinical and I/O psychologist?
My research in this field was sparked by an article in the American Psychologist in 2003 (Vol. 58, No. 3, pp. 182 ff.) by Roy and Judy Eidelson, who proposed a theory of five worldviews that underlie international conflicts. I developed a measure of these worldviews, then measures of warmongering to validate the Eidelson worldviews. Then I studied the relationship between warmongering and many other traits. This led to the two religious beliefs factors and then led to the rating scale for warmongering-proneness. In the course of these studies, data pointed to the apparent strong desire among citizens for a new form of democracy. In addition to all this, I have had an almost life-long underlying interest in promoting world peace and improved democracy.
