The Psychology of Brexit: From Psychodrama to Behavioural Science
Intro -- Acknowledgements -- Also by Brian M. Hughes -- Contents -- 1 Brexit as Psychodrama -- The Psychologising of Brexit -- Empire 2.0 -- From Self-Regard to Self-Loathing -- From Self-Loathing to Self-Abuse -- A Scientific Psychology of Brexit -- Psychodrama Under the Microscope -- The Problem of Improbability -- The Problem of Easily Remembered Examples -- The Problem of Counterexamples -- The Problem of Simpler Explanations -- The Real Psychology of Brexit -- 2 Reasoning Through Brexit -- I. Decisions, Decisions -- That Is the Question -- The Age of Ill-Reason -- Brexit Means… -- This Message Will Self-Destruct… -- It's (Not) the Economy, Stupid -- Silver-Medal Anxiety -- Complex Numbers -- II. A Brain Made for Taking Shortcuts -- Rules of Thumb: Free-Flowing Memories -- Rules of Thumb: Anchors Ahoy! -- Rules of Thumb: Give It to Me Exactly… -- Rules of Thumb: What's Mine Is, Well, Mine -- Peer Pressure: Nothing to Lose but Your Sense of Perspective -- Peer Pressure: Truthiness -- Problems of Rose-Tinted Glasses: Everything Is Awesome -- Problems of Rose-Tinted Glasses: Everything Is Under Control -- Problems of Rose-Tinted Glasses: It's Not Me, It's You -- People and Their Feelings -- 3 The Brexit People -- I. One Size Does Not Fit All -- Know Your Audience -- Personality Goes a Long Way -- Enough of Experts -- Take Me to Your Leader -- II. Groups Matter -- The Hive Mind -- Echo, Echo -- Poles Apart -- Deal or No Deal: Parliamentarians as Prisoners -- Identify Yourself -- The Point of It All -- 4 Brexit Anxiety -- I. On Brexit as a Cause of Mental Illness -- Land of No Hope and Glory -- Our Survey Says -- Need More Data -- Drug Machine -- Economic Instability Is Bad for Mental Health -- II. On Mental Illness as a Cause of Brexit -- The Insanity Offence -- The Pathologising of Politics, and the Politicising of Pathology -- The New Normal.