Contemporary Political Psychology

Spring 2002 Requirements and Readings

Course Description

This course focuses on recent research in political psychology. No readings published before the 1990's will be assigned. Naturally, we will discuss earlier work and its relation to recent advances, but this course focuses on the proverbial "cutting edge" in political psychology. We will not focus on any particular theme, although social dominance theory, terrorism, authoritarianism and leadership will pop up more often than other topics. We will select from a smorgas board of methods and topics representing the variety that results from disciplinary cross fertilization.

During the first few weeks of the course each class session will be devoted to a different topic. About a month into the course, we will decide as a class what areas we wish to investigate further and addtional reading will be determined for the final weeks of the course.

Requirements

Beyond being prepared for each class by having read the day's assignment, there are two basic requirements for the course: two ten to fifteen page research papers on a topic to be chosen in consultation with Professor Ward. The first paper is due before the Spring break, the second paper is due before the last day of class. Each paper will be worth 40% of your final grade. Ten percent of the grade will be based on participation, and ten percent on your own self-evaluation. Peer and self evaluation procedures will be discussed in class.

Readings

Jan 22: Orientation.

Jan 24: Steinberg, B., "Shame, Humiliation, Loss of Self-Esteem, and

Aggression," Chapter 1, Shame and Humiliation, pp. 8-24;

Crenshaw, M., "The Psychology of Terrorism: An Agenda for the 21st Century," Political Psychology, vol. 21, no. 2, June 2000, pp. 405-418.

Jan 29: Renshon, S., "Political Leadership as Social Capital:

Governing in a Divided National Culture," Political Psychology, vol. 21, no. 1, March 2000, pp. 199-224;

Owen, D., "Popular Politics and the Clinton/Lewinsky Affair: The Implications for Leadership," Political Psychology, vol. 21, no. 1, March 2000, pp. 161-175;

Just, M. and Crigler, A., "Leadership Image-Building: After Clinton and Watergate," Political Psychology, vol. 21, no. 1, March 2000, pp. 179-196.

Jan 31: Martin, J. L., "The Authoritarian Personality, 50 Years Later:

What Lessons Are there for Political Psychology, Political Psychology, vol. 22, no. 1, June 2000, pp. 1-24;

Lane, R.E., The Loss of Happiness in Market Democracies, Chapters 1-3, pp. 3-55.

Feb  5:'t Hart, P., Stern, E. K., and Sundelius, B., "Foreign Policy

-making at the Top: Political Group Dynamics," in 't Hart, et al., Beyond Groupthink, pp. 3-33;

George, A.L., "From Groupthink to Contextual Analysis of Policy-making Groups," in 't Hart, et al., Beyond Groupthink, pp. 35-53.

Feb  7:Volkan, V., Bloodlines, From Ethnic Pride to Ethnic

Terrorism, pp. TBA.

Feb 12: Immelman, A. (1993), "The Assessment of Political

Personality: A Psychodiagnostically Relevant Conceptualization and Methodology," Political Psychology, v. 14, no. 4, pp. 725-738.

Immelman, A. (1998). "The political personalities of 1996 U.S. presidential candidates Bill Clinton and Bob Dole." Leadership Quarterly, vol. 9, 335-366.

Feb 14: Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., "Cultural and Crosscultural

Political Psychology: Revitalizing a Founding Tradition for a New Subfield," in Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., eds., Political Psychology: Cultural and Crosscultural Foundations, pp. 3-13;

Pye, L., "The Elusive Concept of Culture and the Vivid Reality of Personality," in Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., eds., Political Psychology: Cultural and Crosscultural Foundations, pp. 18-30;

Ross, M. H., "The Relevance of Culture for the Study of Political Psychology," in Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., eds., Political Psychology: Cultural and Crosscultural Foundations, pp. 33-43;

Fiske, A. P. and Tetlock, P., "Taboo Trade Offs: Consitutive Prerequisites for Political and SWocial Live," in Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., eds., Political Psychology: Cultural and Crosscultural Foundations, pp. 47-64.

Feb 19:Fuller, S. R. and Aldag, R.J., "Challenging the Mindguards:

Moving Small Group Analysis Beyond Groupthink," in 't Hart, et al., Beyond Groupthink, pp.55-93;

Metselaar, M.V. and Verbeek, B., "Beyond Decision Making in Formal and Informal Groups: The Dutch Cabinet and the West New Guinea Conflict," in 't Hart, et al., Beyond Groupthink, pp. 95-118.

Feb 21:Lane, R.E., The Loss of Happiness in Market Democracies,

Chapters 4-5, pp. 59-98.

Feb 26:Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., "Substance and Method in

Cultural and Crosscultural Political Psychology," in Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., eds., Political Psychology: Cultural and Crosscultural Foundations, pp. 66-84;

Duckitt, J., "Culture, Personality and Prejudice," in Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., eds., Political Psychology: Cultural and Crosscultural Foundations, pp. 89-105;

Meloen, J., "The Political Culture of State Authoritarianism," in Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., eds., Political Psychology: Cultural and Crosscultural Foundations, pp. 108-125;

Leung, K. and Stephan, W., "Conflict and Injustice in Intercultural Relations: Insights from the Arab-Israeli and Sino-British Disputes," in Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., eds., Political Psychology: Cultural and Crosscultural Foundations, pp. 128-143.

Feb 28: Stern, E. K. and Sundelius, B., "Understanding Small Group

Decisions in Foreign Policy: Process Diagnosis and Research Procedure," in 't Hart, et al., Beyond Groupthink, pp. 123-148;

Stern, E. K., "Probing the Plausibility of Newgroup Syndrome: Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs," in 't Hart, et al., Beyond Groupthink, pp. 153-188.

Mar  5:Lane, R.E., The Loss of Happiness in Market Democracies,

Chapters 6-8, pp. 99-158.

Mar  7:Ross, M. H., "Culture and Ethnic Conflict," in Renshon, S.

and Duckitt, J., eds., Political Psychology: Cultural and Crosscultural Foundations, pp. 146-153;

Johnson, A., "The Political Unconscious: Stories and Politics in Two South American Cultures," in Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., eds., Political Psychology: Cultural and Crosscultural Foundations, pp. 159-180;

Feldman, O., "Cultural Nationalism and Beyond: Crosscultural Political Psychology in Japan," in Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., eds., Political Psychology: Cultural and Crosscultural Foundations, pp. 182-197;

Moghaddam, F. M. and Crystal, D., "Change, Continuity and Culture: The Case of Power Relations in Iran and Japan," in Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., eds., Political Psychology: Cultural and Crosscultural Foundations, pp. 201-214.

Mar 12:Sidanius, J. (1993), "The Psychology of Group Conflict and

the Dynamics of Oppression: A Social Dominance Perspective, in Iyengar, & McGuire, eds., Explorations in Political Psychology, pp. 182-218.

Levin, S., Sidanius, J., Rabinowitz, J. & Federico, C. (1998), "Ethnic Identity, Legitimizing Ideologies, and Social Status: A Matter of Ideological Asymmetry," Political Psychology, v. 19, no. 2, pp. 373-401.

Mar 14:Feldman, S. & Stenner, K. (1997), "Perceived Threat and

Authoritarianism," Political Psychology, v. 18, no. 4, pp.741-769.

Rickert, E. (1998), "Authoritarianism and Economic Threat: Implications for Political Behavior," Political Psychology, v. 19, no. 4, pp. 707-719.

Meloen, J., Van der Linden, G. & De Witte, H. (1996), "A Test of the Approaches of Adorno et al., Lederer and Altemeyer of Authoritarianism in Belgian Flanders: A Research Note," Political Psychology, v. 17, no. 4, pp. 643-653.

Raden, D., "Is Anti-Semitism Currently Part of an Authoritarian Attitude Syndrome," Political Psychology, vol. 20, no. 2, June 1999, pp. 323-342;

Tibon, S. and Blumberg, H. H., "Authoritarianism and Political Socialization in the Context of the Arab-Israeli Conflict," Political Psychology, vol. 20, no. 3, September 1999, pp. 581-588.

Mar 26:Levin, S. and Sidanius, J. (1999), "Social Dominance and

Social Identity in the United States and Israel: Ingroup Favoritism or Outgroup Derogation?" Political Psychology, v. 20, no. 1, pp. 99-124.

"Rabinowitz, J., (1999), "Go With the Flow or Fight the Power? The Interactive Effects of Social Dominance Orientation and Perceived Injustice on Support for the Status Quo," Political Psychology, v. 20, no. 1, pp. 1-21.

Mar 28: Ottati, V. & Wyer, R. (1993), "Affect and Political

Judgment," in Iyengar, & McGuire, eds., Explorations in Political Psychology, pp. 296-315.

Marcus, G. Affective Intelligence and Political Judgment, pp. TBA.

Dolan, K. A. and Holbrook, T., "The Role of Affect and Cognition in Political Perceptions," Political Psychology, vol. 22, no. 1, March 2001, pp. 27-43.

Apr  2:Koopman, C. (1997), "Political Psychology as a Lens for

Viewing Traumatic Events," Political Psychology, v. 18, no. 4, pp. 831-844.

Suedfeld, P., (1997), "Reactions to Societal Trauma: Distress and/or Eustress," Political Psychology, v. 18, no. 4, pp. 849-859.

Vertzberger, Y. (1997), "The Antinomies of Collective Political Trauma: A Pre-Theory," Political Psychology, v. 18, no. 4, pp. 863-874.

Apr  4:Merelman, R., Streich, G. & Martin, P. (1998), "Unity and

Diversity in American Political Culture: an Exploratory Study of the National Conversation on American Pluralism and Identity," Political Psychology, v. 19, no. 4, pp. 781-804.

Duncan, L. (1999), "Motivation for Collective Action: Group Consciousness as Mediator of Personality, Life Experiences, and Women's Rights Activism," Political Psychology, v. 20, no. 3, pp. 611-633.

Apr  9: Fox, R.L. & Smith, E.R.A.N. (1998), "The Role of Candidate

Sex in Voter Decision-Making," Political Psychology, v. 19, no. 2, pp. 405-414.

Keating, C.F. Randal, D. & Kendrick, T. (1999), "Presidential Physiognomies: Altered Images, Altered Perceptions," Political Psychology, v. 20, no. 3, pp. 607-623.

Schultz, C. & Pancer, S.M. (1997), "Character Attacks and Their Effects on Perceptions of Male and Female Political candidates," Political Psychology, v. 18, no. 1, pp. 93-100.

Apr 11:Runyan, W.M. (1993), "Psychohistory and Political

Psychology: A Comparative Analysis," in Iyengar, & McGuire, eds., Explorations in Political Psychology, pp. 36-62.

Birt, R. (1993), "Personality and Foreign Policy: The Case of Stalin," Political Psychology, v. 14, no. 4, pp. 607-623.

Friedman, W. (1994), "Woodrow Wilson and Colonel House and Political Psychobiography," Political Psychology, v. 15, no. 1, pp. 35-59.

Apr 16:Preston, T., "'Following the Leader': The Impact of U.S.

Presidential Style upon Advisory Group Dynamics, Structure, and Decision, in 't Hart, et al., Beyond Groupthink, pp. 191-244;

Hoyt, P. C. and Garrison, J.A., "Political Manipulation within the Small Groups: Foreign Policy Advisers in the Carter Administration," in 't Hart, et al., Beyond Groupthink, pp. 249-270.

Apr 18:Lane, R.E., The Loss of Happiness in Market Democracies,

Chapters 9-12, pp. 159-230.

Apr 23:Schwartz, S. H., Bardi, A. and Bianchi, G., "Value Adaptation

to the Imposition and Collapse of Communist Regimes in East-Central Europe," in Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., eds., Political Psychology: Cultural and Crosscultural Foundations, pp. 217-235;

De Vos, G. A., "Social Authority and Minority Status: Problems of Internalization and Alienation Among Japanese and Koreans in Diverse Cultural Settings," in Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., eds., Political Psychology: Cultural and Crosscultural Foundations, pp. 241-261;

Berry, J. W. and Kalin, R., "Multicultural Policy and Social Psychology: The Canadian Experience," in Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., eds., Political Psychology: Cultural and Crosscultural Foundations, pp. 263-283;

Renshon, S., "American Character and National Identity: The Dilemmas of Cultural Diversity," in Renshon, S. and Duckitt, J., eds., Political Psychology: Cultural and Crosscultural Foundations, pp. 285-304.

Apr 25: Vertzberger, Y. I., "Collective Risk Taking: The Decision

-making Group," in 't Hart, et al., Beyond Groupthink, pp. 275-304;

't Hart, P., "From Analysis to Reform of Policy-making Groups," in 't Hart, et al., Beyond Groupthink, pp. 311-336.

Apr 30: Readings for the last two weeks of class will be decided

upon in class.

May  2: Readings for the last two weeks of class will be decided

upon in class.

May  7: Readings for the last two weeks of class will be decided

upon in class.

May  9:Readings for the last two weeks of class will be decided

upon in class.