Fall 2022  |  POL 3766 Section 001: Political Psychology of Mass Behavior (34004)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/06/2022 - 12/14/2022
Mon, Wed 04:00PM - 05:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 250
Enrollment Status:
Open (44 of 55 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
How do people develop their political opinions? What makes people vote the way that they do? Why do some people love, and other loathe, Donald Trump? Understanding how ordinary citizens engage with the political sphere is essential to understanding how politics work. This course applies a psychological approach to understanding how average people - members of the mass public - think about politics, make political decisions, and decide how (and whether) to take political actions. We will explore arguments about the role that ideology, biological and evolutionary factors, personality, identity and partisanship, racial attitudes, and political discussion play in shaping the opinion and behavior of members of the mass public. In addition, this class introduces students to the methodology of political psychology and how political psychologists approach questions and attempt to understand the political world. Students will exit the class having mastered a body of knowledge about how they and their fellow citizens think about politics and the different approaches that scholars take to study these decisions. They will also gain the critical capacity to judge arguments about politics, the ability to identify, define, and solve problems, and the skill to locate and critically evaluate information relevant to these tasks. Finally, this course takes a cooperative approach to learning, and many course activities will be structured around learning and working with a group of fellow students over the course of the semester.
Class Description:

What do all citizens have in common? Although we are more divided than ever across partisan and ideological lines, we are all fundamentally still human. This course reviews how several different aspects of human psychology influence public opinion and political behavior. How we discuss politics with others, our positions on major policy issues, the decision to vote in elections, and even how we interpret political information, are all shaped (at least in part) by psychological factors.


This course will cover seven broad thematic units. The first focuses on the essential theories and methods underlying the study of political psychology, most generally. The remainder of the course describes how different aspects of psychology influence public opinion and behavior, including the role of personality traits, emotion, how we process political information, core values and morality, heritable and biological factors, and group identity. Along the way, we will relate core principles learned in each unit to central questions and challenges in political science more broadly; both in the U.S., and globally.
Who Should Take This Class?:
Students interested in (or interested in majoring in) political science, psychology, or relevant fields. Individuals generally interested in politics and human behavior.

There are no prerequisite for this course and no prior knowledge on the subject of political psychology is necessary - but students should be interested in the subject and curious to learn more.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the session, students will be able to answer questions like:

• Do citizens support candidates and parties because they agree with their policies or because of their social identities?
• Do politicians follow the preferences of voters or do voters just follow their preferred leaders on policy?
• Are people rational or motivated reasoners?
• Do they update their beliefs given new information or do they rationalize new information to fit their prior beliefs?
• What is the role of personality, emotions, cognition and biology in public opinion and mass political behavior?
Grading:
20% Attendance / Participation
60% Three (3) response essays to weekly readings (4-6 double-spaced pages)
20% Final exam
Exam Format:
One take home exam
Class Format:
50% lecture
50% discussion

The first half of class will be used for a short lecture related to (but not identical to) that day's readings. The second half of class will then be primarily discussion.

The class format is ONLINE AND SYNCHRONOUS on the days and times scheduled (Mondays and Wednesdays from 9-11:30a).
Workload:
In addition to regular class attendance and participation, students are expected to complete a short set of readings prior to each class. Students will also need to complete three reading response papers on the topics / weeks that interest them.
All reasonable accommodations will be made for students in light of current circumstances.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/34004/1229
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jucax001_POL3766_Fall2019.pdf (Fall 2019)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
10 May 2022

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