Although Republicans and Democrats frequently disagree ideologically, the leaders of both parties share one commonality in particular--they inevitably make flawed judgments. To adequately understand the extent to which psychological filters act as a fundamental factor in decision making, this thesis shall analyze current political events and observe how partisans within both administrations deal with information incompatible with their own values and beliefs. Specifically referencing the war in Iraq, weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), civil unrest, national security, the national economic climate, and the housing market, this study examines the way leaders deal differently with conflicting information. Although all subjects in the latter shall be discussed, the primary focus is directed towards weapons of mass destruction during the Bush administration and the economic climate during the Obama administration. During their presidencies, both administrations faced different circumstances and congruently possessed different ideologies in respect of how to resolve current problems. Therefore, both President Obama and Bush shall equally be observed in order to adequately compare the extent to which each succumbs to cognitive biases when faced with dissonant information. In addition, groupthink theory, schema theory, and self-justification shall be discussed as complimentary forces which impair political members' decisions. Overall, qualitatively assessing both Republican and Democratic parties in one comprehensive examination breaks the bounds of usual political science studies because both partisans are linked more by their similarities than differences.

In previous studies, male sex buyers have been interviewed about their motives for buyingsex. Desire for power, control, realization of fantasies and the desire for mutual closenesshave been stated as driving forces. How these ideas are expressed in their proper context, inthe relationship with women in prostitution, seems to be largely lacking in research. Thepurpose of this study is to explore how heterosexual male sex buyers in Sweden communicatewith women in prostitution via chats published on the Instagram page #shittorskarsays3.0.How do they present themselves? What strategies do they use to get what they want? How dothey legitimize their actions for themselves? Using the perspective Response BasedApproach, the theory of hegemonic masculinity and the concept of space and thematicmethod, this study shows the following conclusions: Men present themselves according todifferent masculinity ideals such as aggression, control, power, virility and ideas about how agood man should be. The strategies men use to get their way are manipulation, threats andmental degradation. To legitimize their actions, they project their thoughts on the woman, askif she is doing it by free will and then choose not to listen to the answer.