Ron Seyb Office Hours

Government 252 The Psychology of Politics

Ron Seyb Office Hours: Ladd 310 M&W, 1:30-3:30 PM Ext. 5248 Fall 2014

Course Description

This course addresses three questions: (1) Why do some Americans choose to pursue careers in politics? (2) How do political elites make choices? (3) What effect do these choices have on public policy and civic engagement? Political psychologists seek answers to these questions by exploring the motives, beliefs, personality characteristics of and social influences on political leaders. The course will demonstrate that the reasons political actors give for their behavior are rarely accurate. Much political behavior is driven by unconscious motives, irrational beliefs, personality traits, and information- processing biases that can lead political actors to endorse policies that are contrary to their interests and choose courses of action that are counterproductive, immoral, or destructive.

The first half of the course will address why political actors make such "foolish" choices by exploring how they acquire their personality traits and belief systems, process information, and respond to the demands of their social and political environments. The course's second half will explore both the techniques for and the consequences of political leaders' attempts to "market" these choices to an at times skeptical, at times indifferent, public.

Course Goals

The course is designed to enable students to:

1. Appreciate the distinctive contribution that political psychology makes to the study of political behavior 2. Understand the ways that cognitive biases, social influence, and personality traits can prevent even the most capable of leaders from acting “rationally” 3. Analyze how political leaders employ various communication techniques to lead their audiences to draw erroneous conclusions or treat as indisputable facts what are really contestable propositions 4. Acquire a better understanding of why political leaders sometimes seem to lose their moral compass when making decisions that have a conspicuous moral dimension

Course Requirements

(1) There will be three in-class examinations: a short answer examination on Friday, September 26 (15%), a midterm examination on Friday, October 17 (25%)

1 and a final examination to be administered on Thursday, December 16 at 6:00 PM (25%).

(2) You will be required to write a 12-15 page psychobiography of a president of your choice that uses Justin Frank’s Obama on the Couch as a model. Your psychobiography will be due on Monday, December 3 and will determine 35% of your final grade.

Attendance

You are allowed to miss four (4) classes. There are no excused absences. I do not grant excused absences for two reasons: (1) I have found that my ability to discriminate between a valid and an invalid reason for missing class rivals my ability to discriminate between a Princess Cruise and a Carnival Cruise (spoiler alert: both will make you sick) and (2) Four absences allow you to miss over a week of class without incurring any penalty. There is not a more generous attendance policy, except perhaps that administered by Magic Mountain’s Human Resources Division. I will treat tardies as absences. I do often say significant things at the outset of class about readings, assignments, snakebite treatments, etc. It is hence important that you be present every MWF at 11:15 AM.

I will deduct 2% from your final grade for each absence you accrue over the 4 absence limit (e.g., a student who earns a cumulative score of “90” (A-) on the course assignments who compiles 5 absences will receive an “88” (B+) for the course).

If you reach four absences, I will send you an email alerting you that your next absence will cause me to deduct 2%from your course grade.

You should also keep in mind that according to the Academic Information Guide "any students who miss more than a third of the [class] sessions may expect to be barred from [the final examination]. In such cases, the course grade will be recorded as F."

Laptops and Tablets

Laptops and tablets are not allowed in class. I do understand that this policy makes me more obsolete than a Danny DeVito star vehicle. I also, however, understand the natural inclination (one that, by the way, I share) to scan out-takes from Seth Rogen’s recent trip to El Pollo Loco during slack moments in the presentation. While I recognize that some of you may be unaccustomed to taking notes by hand, please trust me when I say that this is an important skill to learn, and not merely because you may not always have a laptop or a tablet in your holster. There is an emerging consensus among scholars that taking notes by hand enhances recall and understanding of class material (see, for example, Robinson Meyer, “To Remember a Lecture Better, Take Notes by Hand, The Atlantic, May 1, 2014). Students who have a disability that precludes them from taking notes by hand must provide me with documentation testifying to their needs by the end of the second week of classes (i.e., Friday, September 12).

2 Cell and Smart Phones

I will not ask you to leave your phone behind with the rest of the unregenerate. I know that the separation anxiety that arrives soon after you lose track of your phone is more acute than that which occurs when a dingo eats a mother’s baby. I will, however, ask that you turn off these devices during class. If I do see you texting in class, then I will write you an email following class urging you to desist for all of the reasons of which you are undoubtedly aware. If you repeat this offense, then I will ask you not to bring your phone to class. A third transgression will compel me, reluctantly, to deduct 5 points from your course grade. I will not entertain any challenges to my judgment that you are texting in class. Your most prudent course is thus to do nothing in class that could even cause me to think that you might be texting (i.e., do not try to execute the standard one hand under the desk, head cocked at a side angle, eyes downcast posture that is approved by no yoga instructor with whom I am acquainted)

The following books can be purchased at The Skidmore Shop for less than it cost for President Obama to subject Joe Biden to a full array of psychological tests:

Justin Frank, Obama on the Couch Travis Ridout and Michael Franz, The Persuasive Power of Campaign Advertising Lauren Slater, Opening Skinner's Box Drew Westen, The Political Brain

Important Note about The Hodges Harbrace Handbook

All Government majors are now required to own a copy of The Hodges Harbrace Handbook. While it would be ideal if you owned the most recent edition of this style guide (the 18th edition), you certainly can manage with an earlier edition in the same way that Anne Hathaway manages to be annoying even when she is not in Yves-Saint Laurent.

Weekly Topics and Reading Assignments

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes a reading available on Blackboard

Week 1: (September 3-5): Political Leadership in America Readings: *Garry Wills, Introduction to Certain Trumpets, pp. 11-34

Week 2 (September 8-12): Deliberative Choice v. Automatic Processing: The Habits of Highly Effective and Ineffective Leaders Readings: *Charles Duhigg, “The Power of a Crisis: How Leaders Create Habits Through Accidents and Design,” Chapter 6 in Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit

3 *Charles Duhigg, “Keystone Habits or the Ballad of Paul O’Neill,” Chapter 4 in Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit

Week 3 (September 15-19): Political Beliefs: The Morality of Consent Readings: *Jonathan Haidt, “The Divided Self,” Chapter 1 in Jonathan Haidt, The Happiness Hypothesis *Jonathan Haidt, “Can’t We All Disagree More Constructively?” Chapter 12 in Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided By Politics and Religion *Complete Moral Foundations Questionnaire at YourMorals.org.

SELECTION OF PRESIDENT FOR PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY DUE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 AT 5:00 PM

Week 4 (September 22-26): Is it Just Emotion That’s Taking Me Over? I: Brain Chemistry, Brain Destiny? Readings: *David Eagleman, “The Brain on Trial,” The Atlantic (July/August 2011) *Paul Bloom, “The War on Reason,” The Atlantic (March 2014) *Richard A. Friedman, “Why Teenagers Act Crazy” The New York Times, June 28, 2014

SHORT ANSWER EXAMINATION FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26

Week 5 (September 29-October 3): Is It Just Emotion That’s Taking Me Over? II: Why William Goldman Was Right When He Said, “Nobody Knows Anything” Readings: Westen, Chapters 1-5 *Kathyrn Schulz, “Denial and Acceptance,” Chapter 11 in Kathyrn Schulz, Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error

Week 6 (October 6-10): Personality and Political Choice Readings: Frank, Introduction and Chapters 1-6

Week 7 (October 13-17): Does Personality Matter? Readings: Slater, Chapters 2 and 3, and 5

MIDTERM EXAMINATION FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17

Week 8 (October 20-22): Bad Decisions by Good People Readings: Slater, Chapter 4 *Irving Janis, “A Perfect Failure” from Groupthink

STUDY DAY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24

Week 9 (October 27-31): The New Language of Leadership

4 Readings: *Matt Bai "The Framing Wars," The New York Times Magazine (July 17, 2005) *Molly Ball, “The Agony of Frank Luntz,” The Atlantic (January 6, 2014) Westen, Chapter 11

Week 10 (November 3-7): Political Advertising I: The Problem of Persuasion Readings: Ridout and Franz, Chapters 1, 2, and 4

Week 11 (November 10-14): Political Advertising II: What Matters Readings: Ridout and Franz, Chapters 5-8

Week 12 (November 17-21): The Media and Motivated Reasoning Readings: *Thomas E. Patterson, “The Source Problem,” Chapter 2 in Thomas Patterson, Informing the News Michael A. Cacciatore, et al., “Misperceptions in Polarized Politics: The Role of Knowledge, Religiosity and Media,” PS, 47(3) (July 2014)

Week 13 (November 24): Catch-Up Readings: No Reading

THANKSGIVING BREAK

Week 14 (December 1-5): The Media and the Tragedy of American Politics Readings: Markus Prior, “Media and Political Polarization,” Annual Review of Political Science 16 (2013)

PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY DUE (Must Be Submitted by 5:00 PM) DECEMBER 1

Week 15 (December 8-10): Review for Final Examination Reading: No Reading

FINAL EXAMINATION THURSDAY DECEMBER 16, 6:00-9:00 PM, Ladd 207