Operational Code Theory

With political psychology, the study of the personalities of world political leaders is important to understanding how leaders will react to certain world events.  The operational code is a cognitive approach that goes beyond the personalities of world leaders to their belief systems.  Basically, it is narrowed down to their worldview of either harmony or conflict.  It is through understanding the belief systems of the leaders that analysis can diagnose what decisions they will make in certain situations. "This theory complex specifies belief-based solutions to the puzzles posed by diagnostic, decision making, and learning processes in world politics" (Walker 2002).  Most studies by political psychologists have focused on the national level of understanding.  But this study was developed in 1953 during the Cold War to help understanding the antecedents of behavior of the Soviets to predict how they would react to certain events.  It was believed that with this understanding of pre-behavior, or intentions through belief systems that political action could become predictable.  This is just fascinating to say the least and it goes links into game theory.