The electoral college exacerbates the red-blue divide and disenfranchises ethnic minorities.

Comments on the article by Seyle and Newman "A house divided? The psychology of red and blue America," (see record 2006-11202-001). Seyle and Newman argued that perceiving the American political landscape in terms of red and blue (to describe conservative and liberal perspectives, respectively) might unnecessarily pigeonhole people's dynamic social identities into one of two oversimplified categories. Their assessment of the negative psychological consequences of the red-versus-blue perspective is excellent, and their suggestion to abandon the terms red and blue in favor of their "purple America" model is laudable; however, they did not go far enough in implicating the winner-take-all policy adopted by most states in allocating their electoral college votes, which may be more directly responsible for perpetuating the red-versusblue dichotomy than the two-tone maps frequently used by the media. Seyle and Newman's suggestion to drop the red-blue metaphor is timely and noble; however, a more surefire way to hasten its demise would be to abandon the winner- take-all aspect of the Electoral College. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological perspectives on political change.

Presents a reply by the authors to comments by Sullivan (see record 2007-14606-016) and Webster (see record 2007-14606-017). Both of these comments help to place our article on the red states versus blue states metaphor (Seyle & Newman, see record 2006-11202-001) into a broader context. In particular, both comments make valuable points about the potential for collaboration between psychology, political science, and political action. Sullivan made two points that address this collaboration directly. First, he pointed out that we failed to acknowledge a book by Morris Fiorina and his colleagues. Second, Sullivan disagreed with our claim that psychologists cannot change the system. Webster argued persuasively that we let the Electoral College off too easy. To support his indictment of the Electoral College, he drew on two compelling sources of evidence. First, because of changes in population distribution, electoral votes appear to play more of a role in the outcome of elections than they have at any time in the past. Second, the weighting system used to determine a state's number of electoral votes has the consequence of underrepresenting minority populations. However, we are less optimistic than Webster that this approach might "eliminate red- blue labeling" (p. 703). Thus, we repeat our original suggestion that the best short-term solution for improving political discourse is to encourage the use of the "purple America" approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A house divided? The psychology of red and blue America.

Recently it has become commonplace in America for commentators and the public to use the terms "red" and "blue" to refer to perceived cultural differences in America and American politics. Although a political divide may exist in America today, these particular terms are inaccurate and reductive. This article presents research from social psychology demonstrating that the increased use of these terms is likely to increase the conflict between political groups in America by making political conflict salient in nonpolitical contexts, reducing the ability of Americans to form multifaceted complex identities, pushing Americans to misperceive political in-groups and out-groups, and contributing to a "spiral of silence." An alternative model for discussing cultural differences is proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial groups and test fairness, considering history and construct validity.

According to Helms (see record 2006-21079-024), "test fairness" is defined as "removal from test scores of systematic variance attributable to experiences of racial or cultural socialization." Some of Helms's reasoning is based on earlier work, which recommended that racial group or category variables be replaced entirely with individual-level constructs, to reflect racial socialization experiences that vary within racial groups. Treatment of the test fairness issue--a social and political issue--will benefit from explicitly considering historical events that contributed to group-level race differences. In light of this history, D. A. Newman et al suggest (a) retaining a group-level conceptualization of race/racial socialization and also (b) focusing on criterion-irrelevant variance in test scores that is attributable to race. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some Thoughts on the "Staircase to Terrorism"

Comments on F. M. Moghaddam's article (see record 2005-01817-002) which uses the metaphor of a narrowing staircase "to provide a more in-depth understanding of terrorism." In the article, "staircase to terrorism," a person will become a terrorist because he or she experiences "injustice and the feelings of frustration and shame" on "the ground floor." If this situation does not change on higher floors, particularly on the fourth and fifth floors, this person will realize that terrorism is the only way to have a "democratic participation in addressing perceived justices." Therefore, the prevention and end of terrorism will be achieved "only by reforming conditions on the ground floor." People who perceive injustices and unfairness in a given political system may, indeed, try to destroy that system with terrorism. But this is political terrorism, not the form of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism or messianic terrorism directed by Osama bin Laden and Abu Musad al-Zarqawi. The author concludes that the metaphor may explain the origin of political terrorism but not the origin of Islamic fundamentalist or messianic terrorism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological Processes and "The Staircase to Terrorism"

Replies to the comments of Paniagua (see record 2005-15840-016) and Steiner (see record 2005-15840-015) on his original article (see record 2005-01817-002) on terrorism. The author notes that several points raised by Paniagua and Steiner are insightful and help to broaden the range of factors to be considered on the staircase to terrorism. Steiner highlights the role of incitement, and this points to the importance of both research and policies for better understanding, monitoring, and combating voices for hate. Paniagua points out that a number of extremist leaders are not open to negotiation, suggesting that when attempting negotiation with individuals who have reached the final levels of the staircase to terrorism, authorities must selectively try different policies with different terrorist groups and leaders. The author also notes that a subtle but profound theme links the other major points made by the two: that Islamic terrorism is different and has to be treated as a separate phenomenon. Steiner implies this with reference to what he sees as a long history of conflict between the West and the Islamic World; Paniagua suggests this by placing terrorism by various major "terrorist organizations" in the category of political terrorism and depicting political terrorism as different from Islamic terrorism. Both of these observations are intriguing, but they should not distract psychologists from the foundational psychological processes that underlie terrorist thought and action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The end of the end of ideology.

The "end of ideology" was declared by social scientists in the aftermath of World War II. They argued that (a) ordinary citizens' political attitudes lack the kind of stability, consistency, and constraint that ideology requires; (b) ideological constructs such as liberalism and conservatism lack motivational potency and behavioral significance; (c) there are no major differences in content (or substance) between liberal and conservative points of view; and (d) there are few important differences in psychological processes (or styles) that underlie liberal versus conservative orientations. The end-of-ideologists were so influential that researchers ignored the topic of ideology for many years. However, current political realities, recent data from the American National Election Studies, and results from an emerging psychological paradigm provide strong grounds for returning to the study of ideology. Studies reveal that there are indeed meaningful political and psychological differences that covary with ideological self-placement. Situational variables--including system threat and mortality salience--and dispositional variables--including openness and conscientiousness--affect the degree to which an individual is drawn to liberal versus conservative leaders, parties, and opinions. A psychological analysis is also useful for understanding the political divide between "red states" and "blue states." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psi Chi/APA Edwin B. Newman Graduate Research Award.

The Edwin B. Newman Graduate Research Award is sponsored jointly by Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology, and the APA. The award is presented annually to the psychology graduate student who submits the best research paper that was published or presented at a national, regional, or state psychological association conference during the past calendar year. Award winners from 1979-2005 are listed. This document includes the citation presented to George M. Slavich, the award winner of the 2005 Psi Chi/APA Edwin B. Newman Graduate Research Award. A brief biography and a selected bibliography of Slavich accompany the citation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Party Over Policy: The Dominating Impact of Group Influence on Political Beliefs.

Four studies demonstrated both the power of group influence in persuasion and people's blindness to it. Even under conditions of effortful processing, attitudes toward a social policy depended almost exclusively upon the stated position of one's political party. This effect overwhelmed the impact of both the policy's objective content and participants' ideological beliefs (Studies 1-3), and it was driven by a shift in the assumed factual qualities of the policy and in its perceived moral connotations (Study 4). Nevertheless, participants denied having been influenced by their political group, although they believed that other individuals, especially their ideological adversaries, would be so influenced. The underappreciated role of social identity in persuasion is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In the name of Mussolini: Explaining the schism in an Italian right-wing political party.

The authors present a study testing and refining the social psychological model of schism in groups (F. Sani, 2005) by applying it to the schism that occurred in Alleanza Nazionale--an Italian political party of the right--in 2003. The authors found that perceptions of identity subversion (a sense that the group essence has been undermined by a change made by the group majority) have negative effects on group identification and positive effects on aversive emotions (dejection, agitation, and anger). Perceived identity subversion also has a negative influence on perceived group entitativity, which in turn has positive effects on group identification. Finally, group identification has a negative impact, and aversive emotions have a positive impact, on schismatic intentions. The authors also found that the more those who oppose the change are seen as having the ability to voice their dissent, the less both the negative impact of group identification and the positive impact of aversive emotions on schismatic intentions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The need for a global talking cure for practitioners: Reply to Ghannam (2005).

Replies to comments made by J. Ghannam (see record 2005-01622-015) on the current author's original article (see record 2003-09630-009). Ghannam's comment reveals just how necessary a global "talking cure" is, not just for people outside the field of psychoanalysis but for practitioners within it and related fields as well. One challenge for an international psychoanalysis with regard to the political scene is to devise guidelines that will help analysts to deal with the anger that leads less to truth than to its retreat. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Business and politics.

From the point of view of a student of political science, Bauer's article (Amer. Psychologist, 1960, 15, 650-655) ends on any but "a happy note." While business organizations undoubtedly share features with social and political systems in general, the differences are significant. Bauer has not given any attention to the differences in goals of business and political systems, and the consequent implications for organization. If we believe that it is possible for a society, as well as its members, to have goals not derived from its system of production, and that it is possible for such goals to take precedence over the values of business, including productivity, then we are not compelled to accept organizational studies as our picture of reality. We would be far happier in emphasizing the differences between business organizations and political societies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coda--After "The end of the end of ideology."

Replies to comments by M. Glassman and D. Karno (see record 2007-18356-016) and R. K. Unger (see record 2007-18356-017), on the author's original article (see record 2006-12925-001) on ideology. J. T. Jost thanks Glassman and Karno for returning him to his philosophical roots. Glassman and Karno argued in favor of an "instrumental pragmatist" approach to the study of ideology that emphasizes the strategic, purposive, goal-directed nature of political rhetoric and belief. He agrees that such an approach is helpful and empirically sound. He also agrees that ideological movements are often orchestrated by elites (e.g., party leaders) for strategic political purposes in a top-down manner. There are several other points, however, on which Glassman and Karno seem to misunderstand him. Regarding Unger's comments, Unger pointed out, quite correctly, that Jost said relatively little about the role of religious ideology in his discussion of ideological polarization in the United States. The ideological gulf between religious traditionalists and secular humanists has indeed been widening since 1980, and it corresponds strongly to right-left differences in political attitudes. Jost mentioned, somewhat cryptically, at the end of his article that "similarly fruitful analyses could be undertaken with respect to religious and other belief systems," and he is grateful for Unger's invitation to elaborate on this point. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Democracy’s discontent.

Reviews the book, Democracy’s discontent: America in search of a public philosophy by Michael Sandel (1996). This book has been widely read by academics, politicians and others in public life, and interested citizens, giving him the stature of a leading public intellectual in contemporary America. Even though it is a work of political philosophy, I believe that Sandel’s writings have a special relevance for theoretical and philosophical psychology. At the outset of this book Sandel delivers his often-quoted observation that the “anxiety of the age” is the “fear that, individually and collectively, we are losing control of the forces that govern our lives” and that “from family to neighborhood to nation...the moral fabric of community is unraveling around us” (p. 3). He then describes how this loss of a sense of personal efficacy and meaningful human ties might derive from the dominance in our society of the “public philosophy of contemporary liberalism.” (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Eysenck's tendermindedness dimension: a critique.

An evaluation of Eysenck's research on his tough-mindedness-tender-mindedness factor indicates that this dimension is based not upon fact, but rather rests on "… miscalculations and a disregard for a significant portion of his data. It conceals rather than reveals the attitudinal differences existing among political groups." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Making psychology a household word.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 61(8) of American Psychologist (see record 2006-21079-021). This erratum clarifies the APA Council of Representatives response to the the PENS Task Force Report at its August 2005 meeting.] This article addresses Ronald F. Levant's four APA presidential initiatives for 2005. "Making Psychology a Household Word" was both the general theme for his presidency as well as an initiative in its own right. The other three initiatives were "Promoting Health Care for the Whole Person," "Enhancing Diversity Within APA," and "Developing an APA Position on Evidence-Based Practice in Psychology." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Jahoda on Civil Liberties.

This is not a scientific paper. But then, neither was the article to which these comments apply (Amer. Psychologist, 1956, 11, 234-240). Jahoda's paper represents an attempt to justify her particular political beliefs and convictions by use of hypotheses and indeed the use of some references. Although every paragraph of the article is biased by hypotheses and loose constructs, space does not permit taking these up one at a time; this comment examines two of the cornerstones of the article. Recently articles like Jahoda's and the highly emotionalized concern of some psychologists over conformity, civil liberties, and academic freedom has made psychologists, as a professional group, appear to be anti-anticommunists. This as an unfortunate and unscientific situation. If social psychologists have any unresolved and unchanneled tensions, it might be suggested that they concern themselves with real civil liberties dilemmas, rather than garbing the black cat of "academic freedom" with an intellectualized mink coat and chasing it wildly through a coal bin at midnight. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In support of Ornstein.

Comments on the original article "The limitations of research: A viewpoint," by A. C. Ornstein (see record 1990-57168-001). In that article, Ornstein suggested that social and policy-making circumstances have altered social scientists' freedom of inquiry and right to pursue research without political interference. The current authors have written the comment presented here in support of Ornstein's appeal for freedom of research and support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Eric Hehman: Psi Chi/APA Edwin B. Newman graduate research award.

The American Psychological Association 2010 Psi Chi/APA Edwin B. Newman Graduate Research Award was given to Eric Hehman, for an outstanding research paper whose findings provide evidentiary support for the cross-race effect, entitled "Where the Division Lies: Common Ingroup Identity Moderates the Cross-Race Recognition Effect." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clarification on Psychological Treatments and Psychotherapy.

In this article, the author responds to a set of comments (see record 2005-11834-009; 2005-11834-010; 2005-11834-011) on his original article, "Psychological Treatments" (see record 2004-21168-001). The author responds to each comment. Hal Arkowitz (2005) misread the proposed distinction between "psychological treatments" and "psychotherapy" by presuming that the author was implying that the former is evidence based and the latter is not. Kwekkeboom et al. (2005), representing the nursing profession, noted quite correctly that nurses often deliver psychological treatments on the frontlines of primary care and are independently licensed to provide nursing services, including many approaches that could be categorized as "psychological." Ahmed and Boisvert (2005) agreed that psychological treatments are a core strength of psychology and also go on to provide additional interesting examples and to identify other areas of practice in which psychologists may be uniquely qualified. Overall, the author notes that only certain well-defined pathologies will be included in any health care system, and treatment for these conditions will increasingly need to be based on evidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)