Political Psychology POLT 4100/PSYC 4150 01 Professor: Dr. Linda M. Woolf Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 11:00 - 12:00 a.m. or email for an appointment. 301 WH, Psychology Department. Phone: 246-7062 or 246-6970 woolflm@webster.edu Woolf Web Page: http://faculty.webster.edu/~woolflm/

Text:

• Cottam, M. L., Dietz-Uhler, B., Mastors, E., & Preston, T. (Eds.). (2016). Introduction to political psychology (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.

• Selected readings to be provided or placed on World Classrooom - each noted below.

Catalog Description

Surveys many of the important topics from the field of political psychology. Political psychology is focused mainly on the intersection between psychology -- particularly personality and social psychology -- and political behavior. The field of political psychology has been strongly influenced by political and psychological theories as well as important political events and social issues. The course examines many of the important theories that have relevance to political behavior and provides the opportunity to apply these theories to important events and issues.

Expanded Course Description:

Political behavior permeates our relationships, the academy, the workplace, our communities, and our culture. Human beings are not only social beings, we are—for better or worse—also political beings. Political psychology represents the intersection of the fields of political science and psychology. It is interdisciplinary and includes cognitive, affective, group, and socio-cultural aspects of political behavior. As a discipline, political psychology encompasses such disparate topics as voting behavior, competition, propaganda, globalization, media priming, social identity, political attitudes, racism, terrorism, war, and the personality of political leaders. The following questions all address political psychology topics:

1. Why would someone knowingly join a hate group such as the KKK?
2. What role does personality play in leadership?
3. Could the war in Iraq have been avoided?
4. Why did Hutus begin feverishly murdering their Tutsi neighbors in Rwanda?
5. What possessed a scandal-ridden President to make the choice to have an illicit affair knowing full well that he was living under constant press scrutiny?
6. What is the impact of prejudice on people's lives and do we all harbor a measure of racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.?
7. Why did the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 happen?
8. Why are movements such as "Black Lives Matter" or the efforts for "marriage equality" important?
9. Why war?

Political psychology focuses on the intersection between psychology, such as personality, organizational, and social psychology, and political behavior to address such questions. The field of political psychology has been strongly influenced by political and psychological theories as well as important political events and social issues. We will discuss many of the important theories that have relevance to political behavior and will apply these theories to important events and issues such as the current elections, war, genocide, and terrorism.

Course Objectives:

1. Objective: To become more knowledgeable about the field of political psychology - its definition, its various domains of study, and its methodologies.

2. Objective: To examine the impact of personality on political behavior.

3. Objective: To become familiar with the role of social cognition, social influences, and social relations factors in political behavior.

4. Objective: To examine the myriad of factors involved in the political psychology of groups.

5. Objective: To become familiar with the various psychological and political impacting voting behavior.

6. Objective: To explore the political psychology of race and ethnicity.

7. Objective: To examine the impact of political psychology as it related to broader international concerns such as nationalism, political extremism, and war.

Course Learning Outcomes:

Students should be able to:

1. Outcome: Describe core concepts and research methods related to political psychology.

2. Outcome: Discuss the impact of personality, the media, term limits, social class, political presentation, political efficacy, and leadership styles on the behavior of political leaders.

3. Outcome: Analyze the impact of the media on political behavior, including framing, priming, persuasion, propaganda, political intolerance, and effective campaigns.

4. Outcome: Assess the role of cognition and emotion in political behavior, including political socialization, information processing and voting behavior, motivated reasoning, terror management, image making, and ideologies.

5. Outcome: Examine the issues related to the political psychology of diversity, including stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, social inequality, ethnopolitical conflict, and the path to prejudice reduction.

6. Outcome: Discuss the core issues related to forms of direct violence including violence between intimates and violence within and between groups (e.g., genocide, war).

7. Outcome: Assess the role of structural violence in societies, its impact on groups such as women, children, minorities, and its relation to such topics as globalism and human rights.

8. Outcome: Discuss the impact of political psychology as it related to broader international concerns such as nationalism, militarism, political extremism, and terrorism

9. Outcome: Compare and contrast the psychological aspects of peacekeeping, peacemaking, and peacebuilding.

Incoming Competencies/Prerequisites:

Advanced student standinging. All students should be capable of integrating and evaluating information, critical thinking, and writing at the upper college level.

Class Meetings:

The class will meet on MWF from 10:00 - 10:50. Classroom attendance as expected and class discussion will greatly enhance your understanding of the material presented in this class. Also, material will be presented that is not in any of the readings.

Course Requirements:

Five exams, a term paper, and three short reaction/analysis papers.

Percent of Grade:

Examinations	70%
Term paper	15%
Reaction/Analysis Papers	15%

Examinations: The five exams are designed to test for basic understanding of core concepts and ideas. They will cover material presented in class, readings, and discussion. Exams will be worth 70% final grade. Students must complete all five exams but only the four highest grades will be recorded.

Term Paper: Students will be required to write a term paper of 10-12 pages (approximately 3000 to 3500 words). The purpose of the paper is to provide you, the student, with an opportunity to explore an another area of political psychology, in depth.

• Paper topics must be approved by the professor. NOTE: All paper proposals must be submitted via e-mail (woolflm@webster.edu) to the instructor by September 30. Paper topics that have not been approved will not be accepted.
  Paper topic proposals must include the following:
  

  Topic

  Rationale for selection of topic

  List of potential references from journals

  Proposed organization

• At least six references for your paper must come from refereed journals (not Psychology Today or Newsweek, for example). NOTE: Do not rely heavily on popular literature, for example, a book you happen to see on Amazon.com. Often times these books are not empirically based. Also, do not take the bulk of your paper from one source or from secondary sources. I want an integration, analysis, and critique of all of your readings, in particular, the current research in the area you have chosen to study.

• All papers must be typed, double-spaced, 1 inch margins, and in APA style format. Note that this is the accepted format for the field of political psychology and is the format required for journals in the field such as Political Psychology.

  If you are in doubt as to what this means, see me for details.

  or
  • Purchase or go to the library to view a copy of the APA 6th Edition Publication Manual

  • Go to OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab

The paper should be submitted electronically in Word format to woolflm@webster.edu. Hard copies of the paper will not be accepted.

Reaction/Analysis Papers: Three short reaction/analysis papers will be required for the class. You must respond to at least three of the options below (more may be presented during the class in response to world events) with a short paper (3-4 pages; 12 point font) that answers the question asked and relating the question to material you have learned related to political psychology. You must include relevant research; personal opinion alone will not result in a passing grade. The goal is to demonstrate that you understand the material from class and can apply that learning to each assignment. If you respond to more than three of the options, only the three highest grades will be recorded. Note the deadlines for each assignment. Possible options include:

1. Enemy image analysis: Review at least six images/descriptions found online in relation to at least two different groups. Analyze these images as discussed in class and your book. Feel free to use other research (e.g., from the journals/databases) related to images of the enemy/mirror imagingfor your analysis. Due: September 25
2. Examine the leadership style of Barack Obama based on the principles outlined in your textbook. Provide examples to support your analysis based on reports from the research literature, magazines, and/or newspapers. Due: October 9
3. Write an social media blog (approximately 1000 words) addressing the use of sexism or ageism or other bias in the current election. Be sure to provide references and support for your arguments. Due: October 16
4. Select an issue from the current election and discuss media framing and agenda setting. Do an analysis of reports on the exact same issue as presented on Fox, MSNBC, CNN, and one additional news outlet. Due: October 30
5. Examine a hate group within the United States based on the principles outlined in your book and lecture. Be specific and support your answer with references from the news and research literature. Due: November 20
6. Exam a social movement within the United States based on the principles outlined in your book a the lecture. Be specific and support your answer with references from the news and research literature. Due: November 27
7. Examine a current genocide based on the principles outlined in your book and lecture. Be specific and support your answer with references from the news and research literature. Due: December 11
8. Article critique: Critique an article from the journal Political Psychology, which is available through the databases in our library. You are to read and critique a recent article. Specific instructions are located on World Classroom. Due: December 11

Policy Statements:

Use of Electronic Devices in the Classroom: Please respect others in the class by turning off all cell phones and pagers before entering the room. Text messaging during class is not acceptable. Laptops may be used in class but are only to be utilized for class related activities (e.g., taking notes). If it becomes apparent you are using the computer for non-class activities (e.g., checking your email, playing games) then you may be asked to turn off your computer and refrain from bringing it into class in the future. Laptop use is restricted to the back or sides of the classroom so that other students are not distracted during lecture.

Plagiarism (attempting to pass off the work of another as one's own) is not acceptable. Plagiarism includes copying all or part of another's writings (even a single sentence), inappropriate paraphrasing, using another student's paper as your own, submitting a paper for more than one class. All papers will be submitted to the university's plagiarism database for review. Plagiarism, either intentional or unintentional, will result in a grade of 0 for that assignment but also may be turned over to the appropriate university source for disciplinary action and a grade of F for the course. In addition, cheating on exams will also result in the same fate..

Here are some Web sites that will help you avoid the problem of plagiarism particularly plagiarism resulting from paraphrasing too closely to the original source. -

• Establishing Authorship by Paul C. Smith, Alverno College

• How to Avoid Plagiarism Tutorial

• The University of Indiana's Online Plagiarism Tutorial - You can print out a certificate of completion!

Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact me or the Director of the Academic Resource Center, as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations can be implemented in a timely fashion.

Late withdraws from this class will not be approved by the instructor except in cases of emergency discussed with the instructor. No late withdraws will be approved on the basis of poor class performance.

This syllabus is subject to change at the instructor's discretion. All changes concerning course requirements will be provided in writing. Changes concerning exam dates may be made at the instructor's discretion and communicated verbally to the class.

It is understood that remaining in this course (not dropping or withdrawing from this course) constitutes an agreement to abide by the terms outlined in this syllabus and an acceptance of the requirements outlined in this document. No grade of Incomplete will be issued for this course.

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Course Outline

The schedule below provides a general guideline to the semester and is flexible based on any need for additional discussion of a particular topic.

Week Ending		Topic	Reading
August	26	Introduction to class Introduction to Political Psychology	Chapter 1
September	2	Introduction to Political Psychology continued Methods Personality and Politics	Chapter 1 Chapter 2
September	9	Personality and Politics continued Exam I - Friday, September 9	Chapter 2
September	16	Cognition, Social Identity, Emotions, and Attitudes in Political Psychology	Chapter 3
September	23	The Political Psychology of Groups	Chapter 4
September	30	The Study of Political Leaders Exam II - Friday, September 30	Chapter 5
October	7	The Political Psychology of Mass Politics: Voting	Chapter 6
October	14	The Political Psychology of the Media	Chapter 7
Fall Break
October	28	The Political Psychology of the Media Exam III, Friday October 28)	Chapter 7
November	4	The Political Psychology of Race and Ethnicity	Chapter 8 Opotow article Woolf & Hulsizer hate groups article
November	11	Race and Ethnicity continued The Political Psychology of Social Movements	Chapter 8 Opotow article Woolf & Hulsizer hate groups article Chapter 11
November	18	The Political Psychology of Social Movements continued Exam IV, Friday November 18	Chapter 11
November	23	From Ethnic Conflict and Genocide	Chapter 9 Woolf & Hulsizer genocide article Chapter 10 (optional)
December	2	The Political Psychology of Terrorism	Chapter 12 Moghaddam article Woolf Hulsizer terrorism article
December	9	Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation	Chapter 14 Staub article
December	14	Exam V Wednesday, Dec. 14, 8:00 am - 10 am