Abstract
The author describes how political psychology, an emerging field that explores the intersection of political science and psychology, can help in conducting evaluations. For example, an evaluator might examine the validity of behavioral assumptions of programs, policies, or organizational mechanisms and people’s motivations and subjective experiences within these contexts. An evaluator might also explore the normative orientations of programs and policies, for example, how target goals and implementers are politically framed in a positive or negative light. The author describes a framework for political psychology as applied to evaluation, a brief review of relevant literature and discussion of methodology, and an example of an evaluation informed by political psychology. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc., and the American Evaluation Association