Kristen Monroe

Who is Kristen Monroe?

Kristen Monroe is an American political scientist, specializing in political psychology and the scientific study of ethics. Her award winning work on altruism is widely recognized as a classic analysis of human altruism and its political significance. She was also a significant figure in the Perestroika movement in Political Science. Her current work focuses on applying scientific ethics to current political problems, such as gender equality and stem cell research.

In 1996, Monroe published The Heart of Altruism: Perceptions of a Common Humanity, which won the 1997 Best Book Award in Political Psychology, given by the American Political Science Association. It revealed the political significance and the psychological roots of altruism and focused attention on how political choices are constrained by identity, idealized cognitive models, and cognitive categorization. The Heart of Altruism was critical in illuminating the psychological roots of ethics and suggesting critical limitations in political theories - such as rational choice - that were based on self-interest. Monroe’s use of altruism as an analytical tool revealed significant limitations in political theories predicated on the assumption that human nature is innately self-interested. Her empirically-grounded critique resulted in effective challenges to scholars, such as Gary Becker and Richard Dawkins, who—Monroe claimed—try to explain away altruism in order to protect disciplinary paradigms rooted in the principle of self-interest.