Objective
TEMPER sheds new light on the representative behavior of individual politicians by addressing an overlooked driver of that behavior: their emotions. What makes politicians decide to be responsive to public opinion signals at some occasions, but not at others? And how do politicians go about communicating their viewpoints, sometimes using very emotional or uncivil language, and at other times not? Whereas extant research has been preoccupied with studying the cognitive, strategic reasons that politicians may have to act so-or-so, TEMPER focuses on the emotional explanations of their behavior. It sketches a portrait of politicians who are, above everything, human.
Doing so, TEMPER bridges the gap between theories of elite behavior and theories of the political behavior of citizens, which have—relying on insights from psychology—taken an ‘emotional turn’ decades ago. As emotions arise in response to concrete situations of signals, TEMPER pays attention to the situations or signals that provoke politicians to communicate and act. Its objectives are to explain (1) how characteristics of situations or signals elicit emotions in politicians, (2) how these emotions influence their subsequent representative behavior, and (3) how the resulting ‘emotional explanation’ of behavior maps onto existing (mostly cognitive) explanations of behavior.
TEMPER studies the emotions of politicians directly, in a series of (1) survey-experiments with politicians; (2) interviews with politicians; and (3) direct observations of actual media debates and party meetings. It combines self-reported measures of emotion with psychophysiological measures of affect, which are less susceptible to rationalization and social desirability. The findings of TEMPER will reveal how patterns that we currently interpret as strategic behaviors may, in fact, be grounded in emotional mechanisms.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
2000 Antwerpen
Belgium
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.