Fields of Interest: Political Psychology, Experimental Methods, Evolutionary Models of Political Science, International Relations Theory, Security Studies, American Foreign Policy, Emotion and Decision Making

Professor McDermott's main area of research revolves around political psychology in international relations. She is the author of Risk Taking in International Relations: Prospect Theory in American Foreign Policy (University of Michigan Press, 1998), Political Psychology in International Relations (University of Michigan Press, 2004), and Presidential Illness, Leadership and Decision Making (Cambridge University Press, 2007). She is co-editor of Measuring Identity: A Guide for Social Science Research, with R. Abdelal, Y. Herrera, and A. I. Johnson (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming). She is currently working on a new book project on the impact of pandemic disease on international security issues. She has written numerous articles and book chapters on experimentation, the impact of emotion on decision making, and evolutionary and neuroscientific models of political science.

Professor McDermott has held fellowships at the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies and the Women and Public Policy Program, both at Harvard University.

Courses Taught:

PS 106PP	Political Psychology
PS 121	International Politics
PS 127	American Foreign Policy
PS 225	International Relations
PS 275	War, Diplomacy, and International Security

Selected Recent Publications:

Presidential Illness, Leadership and Decision Making. Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Measuring Identity: A Guide for Social Science Research (co-edited with R. Abdelal, Y. Herrera, and A. I. Johnson). Cambridge University Press, forthcoming.

"On the Evolutionary Origins of Prospect Theory" (with J. Fowler and O. Smirov). Journal of Politics, forthcoming.

"Change the Analyst and Not the System: A Program for Intelligence Reform" (with U. Bar-Joseph). Foreign Policy Analysis, forthcoming.

"Medical Risk-taking." In T. Diebel (special editor) Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Investigations (special issue), forthcoming 2007.

"The Use and Misuse of Medical Intelligence." Intelligence and National Security, forthcoming 2007.

"Experimental Political Science." In M. Webster and J. Sell (eds.), Laboratory Experiments in the Social Sciences. Elsevier, forthcoming 2007.

"Emotions and War." In M Midlarsky (ed.), Handbook of War Studies III. University of Michigan Press, forthcoming 2007.

"Emotion and Politics." In G. Marcus, M. MacKuen, and R. Neumann, et al. (eds.), The Political Dynamics of Feeling and Thinking. University of Chicago Press, forthcoming 2007.

"Testosterone and Aggression in a Simulated Crisis Game" (with D. Johnson, J. Cowden, and S. Rosen). The Annals: Biology and Political Behavior. American Academy of Political and Social Science (November 2007).

"Experiments and Observations: Towards a Unified Framework of Research Design" (with J. Gerring). American Journal of Political Science 51 (July 2007): 688-701.

"The Psychology of Terrorist Alarms" (with P. Zimbardo). In B. Bonger, L. Beutler, J. Breckenridge, and P. G. Zimbardo (eds.), The Psychology of Terrorism. Oxford University Press, 2006.

"Identity as a Variable" (with R. Abdelal, Y. Herrera and I. Johnston). Perspectives on Politics 4 (December 2006): 695-711.

"Overconfidence in Wargames: Experimental Evidence of Expectations, Aggression, Gender and Testosterone" (with D. Johnson, E. Barrett, J. Cowden, R. Wrangham and S. Rosen). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B (Biology) 273 (June 2006): 2513-2520.

"Leader Age, Regime Type, and Violent International Relations" (with M. Horowitz and A. Stam). Journal of Conflict Resolution 4 (December 2005): 661-685.

"The Feeling of Rationality: The Meaning of Neuroscience for Political Science," Perspectives on Politics 2 (December 2004): 691-706.

Political Psychology in International Relations, University of Michigan Press, 2004.