Political Psychology Final Exam

Political Psychology

Study of how psychological patterns influence political behavior

Identity

our sense of self

Attitudes

favor or disfavor towards a person, place, things, or events

Emotions

signals that tell your mind and body how to react

Most common emotion in poly psych

fear

Cognition

how we receive and process information

Group Identity

the identity associated with belonging to a group

Minimal Group Paradigm

the tendency of people to form groups and actively distinguish themselves from others for the most trivial of reasons

Robbers Cave

demonstrated that prejudice can be reduced by requiring groups to cooperate to achieve a goal

Social Identity Theory

explains how people construct and express their social identities, and how these identities influence intergroup behavior

Social Mobility

People attempt to disassociate with low status groups, move up by identifying with higher status groups

Social Creativity

If social mobility is blocked, protect against negative social identity

Realistic Interest Approaches

Group membership is politically consequential in securing tangible gains for group cohesion and depends on common fate

Realistic Group Conflict Theory

a theory that group conflict, prejudice, and discrimination are likely to arise over competition between groups for limited resources

Relative Deprivation Theory

perception that one groups resources are deteriorating relative to those of others

Conformity

Tendency to change beliefs or behaviors so they are consistent with group standard and norms

Informational conformity

Desire to be correct

Normative conformity

Desire to be liked by others

Bystander Phenomenon

When people are part of a group, there is a diffusion of responsibility, and people feel less compelled to intervene and help.

Priming

Media connects candidate to certain aspects, beliefs or associations

Framing

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Ambivalence

Conflicted or torn (may not have a strong opinion)

Socialization

The process of passing values from one generation to the next

Horserace Coverage

Focuses on polls and who is "leading", Less on issues, campaigns, or candidate speeches.

Bandwagon Effect

a shift in electoral support to the candidate whom public opinion polls report as the front-runner

Social Acceptance (Media Effects)

adopt majority because you want to be part of that group

Social Learning (Media Effects)

"wisdom of the crowds" (other people did the research so they must be correct)

Social Learning Theory

the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished

Social Identity Theory

priming of identity based on race and ethnicity

Social Dominance Theory

theory that if one group has dominae they will not want to give it up

Prejudice

preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience

Phenomenal Absolution Error

Evaluative component of the group is not seem as a judgement about the group but rather as an attribute of group (not an analysis of behavior, but interpreted as an inherent trait)

implict bias

attitudes or beliefs that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner

Ethnicity

Ethnic groups have cultural, ingustic, and religious commonalities, with a common origin or heritage

Ethnocentrism

The view of things in which ones own group is the center of everything and looks at contempt on outsiders.

Colonialism

the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

Genocide

Act committed with the intent to destroy in part or in whole a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group

Altruists

People who assist others at the cost of their own safety

Ten Stages of Genocide

1. Classification
2. Symbolization
3. Discrimination
4. Dehumanization
5. Organization
6. Polarization
7. Preparation
8. Persecution
9. Extermination
10. Denial

Four outcomes of conflict

1. Parties negotiate a resolution
2. One part withdraws from the conflict
3. One party yields to the other party
4. Parties fight or go to war

Mixed Motive Interactions

people are motivated to both cooperate and compete

Ego-defensiveness

Conflict resolution strategies that allow both parties to "save face"

Dehumanization

the process of depriving a person or group of positive human qualities.

Group Think

tendency for members of a group to think alike and suppress dissent

Transactional Leadership

leader trades favors, things of value for support