Instructor: John Transue
Office 1350 Social Sciences
Phone: 624-4841
Email: jtransue@polisci.umn.edu
Office Hours: Th 3:45 - 5:00 & F 10:00 - 12:00
TA: Milinda Jackson
Office 1227 Social Sciences
Phone: 624-6821
Email: mjackson@polisci.umn.edu
Office Hours: M 9:00 - 11:00
How do people form their political attitudes? Why are some attitudes so difficult to change? How do people make political decisions? How do the media affect politics in the United States? What leads to groups cooperating at some times and conflicting at others?
Both political science and psychology study how individuals interact with their environment and other individuals and groups. We will use theories and findings from both disciplines to gain deeper insights into political processes, and decisions. The first part of course addresses several topics on individuals. When people (both leaders and ordinary citizens) try to understand the political world, they are confronted by a huge amount of information. Psychological theories of information processing and cognition can help us to understand how people succeed and fail to accurately use information to make political decisions. This part of the course concludes by considering how affect, mood and emotion affect how people feel and think about politics and political figures.
The second part of the course reviews some theories of how people cooperate with each other and how groups come into conflict. Theories of social capital suggest that interpersonal trust is very important to the health of a productive and democratic society, but research that suggest that America's stock of social capital may be in decline. Next we will read some of the huge literature on group conflict including symbolic politics, authoritarianism, racial resentment and realistic group conflict theory. The third part of the course quickly reviews psychological approaches to analyzing political leaders.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING:
To complete this course, students must complete the assigned readings, take the midterm and final exams and complete a written assignment. For the written assignment, you can choose one of two options (indicate your choice by 4/8/99):
1) Write four short papers (3 - 4 pages, double-spaced) based on class readings drawn from four different weeks (that is, each paper will be based on a week's readings).
2) Write a research paper (12 - 16 pages, double-spaced, 12 pt font) applying one or more of the theories covered in class to a political event or phenomenon.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE PAPER ASSIGNMENT AVAILIBLE ONLINE
Grading:
Midterm 30%
Written Project 25%
Final 35%
In-Class Participation and Assignments 10%
COURSE MATERIALS:
Khong, Yuen Foong. 1992. Analogies at War: Korea, Munich, Dien Bien Phu, and the Vietnam Decisions of 1965
Iyengar, Shanto and Donald R. Kinder. 1987. News that Matters
Renshon, Stanley (ed.). 1995. The Clinton Presidency: Campaigning, Governing & the Psychology of Leadership
There is also a coursepack of required readings, available at Copies on Campus (these readings will also be placed on reserve in Wilson Library)
The books are available at H.D. Smith Bookstore on the West Bank.
Class Schedule and Readings
3/30 Introduction: What is political psychology? How has it changed? How is it done?
Part I. Individuals
A: COGNITION AND INFORMATION PROCESSING
4/2 Information Processing and Politics
READ: Khong, Chapter 1 (and 2 if possible)
4/6 Analogies at War: Theory
READ: Khong, pp. 19 - 68
4/8 Analogies at War: Cases
READ: Khong, pp. 97 - 147
Turn in which option you have selected for the written assignment
4/13 Analogies at War: Cases
READ: Khong, 148 - 205
4/15 Analogies at War: Conclusion and Implications
READ: Khong, 209 - 263
4/20 Agenda Setting, Media and Politics, Experiments
READ: Iyengar and Kinder, Chapters 1 - 3
4/22 Priming
READ: Iyengar & Kinder, Chapters 4 - 10
4/27 Media Effects and Framing
READ: Iyengar & Kinder, Chapters 11 - 12;
Kinder, Don and Lynn Sanders. 1990. Mimicking Political Debate with Survey Questions: The Case of White Opinion on Affirmative Action. Social Cognition. 8: 73 - 103;
Renshon (book) chapter 5 (suggested, but optional)
4/29 Midterm
B: AFFECT AND POLITICS
5/4 Anxiety, Enthusiasm and Voting
READ: Marcus, George and Michael MacKuen. 1993. "Anxiety, Enthusiasm and the Vote." American Political Science Review 87: 672 - 685.
Sullivan, Denis G. and Roger D. Masters. 1988. "'Happy Warriors': Leaders' Facial Displays, Viewers' Emotions, and Political Support." American Journal of Political Science 32: 345 - 368.
5/6 Video Application: Theories of Individual Political Psychology and the Civil Rights Movement
READ: Review what we have covered so far and get a head start on the next two weeks.
Part II: Group Cooperation and Conflict
A. COOPERATION
5/11 Social Capital
READ: Putnam, Robert D. 1995. "Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America." P.S.: Political Science & Politics 28: 664 - 683.
Rahn, Wendy M. and John E. Transue. 1998. "Social Trust and Value Change: The Decline of Social Capital in American Youth, 1976 - 1995." Political Psychology 19: 545 - 565.
B. CONFLICT
5/13 Symbolic Politics and Self-Interest
READ: Sears, David O. 1993. Symbolic Politics: A Socio-Political Theory. In Iyengar, Shanto & William McGuire (eds.) Explorations in Political Psychology. pp. 113 - 149
Tedin, Kent L. 1994. "Self-Interest, Symbolic Values, and the Financial Equalization of the Public Schools." Journal of Politics 56: 628 - 649.
5/18 Group Identity and Authoritarianism
READ: Tajfel & Turner "An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict" pp. 33 - 47.
Sidanius, James. 1993. The Psychology of Group Conflict and the Dynamics of Oppression: A Social Dominance Perspective. In Iyengar, Shanto & William McGuire (eds.) Explorations in Political Psychology. Duke University Press. pp. 183 - 193 (remainder is optional)
Doty, Richard M., David G. Winter, Bill E. Peterson, and Markus Kemmelmeier. 1997. "Authoritarianism and American Students' Attitudes about the Gulf War, 1990 - 1996." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23: 1133 - 1143.
5/20 Race and Politics: Explanations for the Principle-Policy Gap
READ: Sniderman, Paul M. Edward G. Carmines, Geoffrey C. Layman and Michael Carter. 1996. "Beyond Race: Social Justice as a Race Neutral Ideal." American Journal of Political Science, 40, (1), 33-55.
5/25 Race Continued
READ: "Theoretical Interpretations of Changes in White Racial Attitudes" and "The Complexity of Race Relations" Chapters (in coursepack) from Schuman, Howard, Charlotte Steeh, Lawrence Bobo and Maria Krysan. 1997. Racial Attitudes in America: Trends and Interpretations (revised edition). pp. 279 - 327, and associated pages (tables, figures and notes).
Part III: Analysis of Leaders
5/27 Psychological Analyses of President Clinton
READ: Renshon Chapters 1, 2, 4, 6
6/1 Leaders Continued
READ: Renshon Chapters 7, 8, 11
6/3 Catch Up Day, (if needed) and Review for Final Exam
6/8 Final Exam 4:00 - 6:00
