PS
474, Political Psychology, Study Questions for the Midterm Exam
Dr.
Peffley, Spring, 2010 (revised Feb. 25th)
Ground Rules: The exam is worth 35% of
your final grade and will consist of about 30 multiple choice questions and 1
to 4 short essay questions. The review questions below are designed to focus
your preparation on theories and concepts from which the exam questions will be
selected and formulated. There are a lot of questions, but they are fairly
specific and they are far fewer than the usual infinite number of potential
questions you’d be facing if there wasn’t a study guide! If you are
prepared to answer these questions, you should do well on the exam. During the
exam, you may not rely on notes. Bring both a #2 pencil for the multiple choice
questions and a ball-point pen and a blue book for the essay questions. Better
essays will be organized and efficiently written.
The exam will cover class
discussions and the readings in topics I-IV on the revised syllabus.
1.
What
are a few of the objections to studying political psychology and how should we
respond to them?
2.
In
response to the question of why there are so many different theories in
psychology, Gordon Allport replied, “No single
sovereign theory will do.” What did he mean by this statement and what does it
imply about the theories we study in Political Psychology?
3.
Compare
the strengths and weaknesses of two of the following methods for studying
political psychology: survey research, experiments, and depth interviews,
focusing on their internal and external validity.
4.
What
are some of the general questions we should ask about a survey when evaluating
its findings?
5.
Based
on our class discussion, Which method is more appropriate for evaluating the
following question and why: Do attack (negative) ads discourage turnout?
6.
Discuss
the role of Standardization (i.e., control in manipulating variables) and
random assignment in establishing the internal validity of experiments.
7.
Based
on your reading of McDermott’s article, describe each of the following
potential problems with experiments and how to minimize their effects:
Expectancy effects, Experimenter bias, and Demand characteristics.
8.
Psychologists
often rely on undergraduates in Psychology courses as participants in
experiments. Discuss some of the potential problems associated with this
practice, according to Sears, citing examples of when it might be relevant, and
discuss a few reasons why this problem might be overstated.
9.
Why
is Anthony Downs’ treatment of individuals’ decision on whether to vote or
abstain in an election sometimes called the “paradox that ate rational choice
theory”? What is
10.
Evaluate
Anthony Downs’ theory of how people vote in elections. What are the goals/means
of candidates and of voters? What are the predictions of the model? How
accurate are the predictions and what is the value of the theory?
11.
Describe
the major problems associated with the Classic Economic Rational Choice
Approach to decision-making, according to Richard Lau, and how does behavioral
decision theory overcome those problems?
12.
What
is “correct voting,” according to Lau and Redlawsk, how do they study it, and
what do they find with respect to the degree of correct voting across different
types of decision making models and individual characteristics, such as
age?
13.
Compare
the strengths and weaknesses of rational choice and heuristic choice models of
decision making, as discussed in class.
14.
What
are the major symptoms of groupthink (define), according to Irving Janis, and
in what are some of the major ways the occupation of
15.
What
are 3-4 ways to prevent groupthink, according to Janis?
16.
On
balance, based on our class discussion, how would you evaluate Janis’ theory of
groupthink in terms of its limitations and the degree to which experimental
studies in psychology either support the theory or not?
17.
Evaluate
some of the major reasons why political scientists been so slow to latch onto
the advances in biology and social sciences.
18.
How
Alford, Hibbing and Funk (AHF) study the degree to which heredity versus the
environment explains individual variation in some political and social
attitudes, and what are some of the major findings of their research.
19.
What
are some of the major shortcomings of twin studies and how are more recent
studies attempting to overcome those limitations?
20.
What
are some of the major political implications of the research by AHF discussed
by the authors?
21.
What
are some of the major findings of Oxley, Hibbing et al on the physiological
reactions to perceived threat by liberals and conservatives, how do they
explain their findings and what are some of the implications of their research?
22. What is Carl Hovland’s approach to attitude change and what are some of
its shortcomings?
23. What is the cognitive
response approach to attitude change and what are some of its shortcomings?
24. In terms of the
Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of attitude change, describe the different
routes to persuasion, the factors that affect which route is used, and what the
implications of the theory are for political persuasion.
25. When does the source
have greater or lesser influence on persuasion. Use political examples.
26. What is self-justification and why is it more powerful and dangerous than lying? Use examples.
27. What is motivated
reasoning, how does it influence belief updating, who is more susceptible
to it and when? How does the Gaines et al study of partisan persuasion and resistance during the Iraq War provide a useful illustration of motivated reasoning?
Questions &
Concepts from Age of Propaganda (skip chs.
12-16, 22, 26-27, 29-32, 34-35, 39-40)
1. What is propaganda,
how should it be distinguished from education, and what questions can be used
to distinguish propaganda from fair and deliberative persuasion?
2. Why mindless
propaganda?
3. What is the essential
modern dilemma?
4. In their chapter on
Mysterious Influence, what are the myths that the authors dispel?
5. What is cognitive
dissonance and what is the rationalization trap, as applied to World War II?
6. What are the four
stratagems of influence and how does Rush Limbaugh use them?
7. How are labels and
words used by politicians to pre-persuade. Give three examples.
8. Why are the pictures
in our heads painted by the mass media so influential? Give 2-3 examples.
9. How do analogies and
metaphors persuade? Use examples.
10. How can questions
influence pre-persuasion? Cite examples.
11. How do “factoids”
influence pre-persuasion? Use examples.
12. When do we use
persuasion heuristics, when are they unreliable and how can we reduce our
reliance on them? (Ch 17)
13. Explain why vivid
appeals are either effective or not, using political examples from the book.
(Ch 19)
14. Under what conditions
are repetitive ads likely to be more or less effective? Use examples.
15. When and why is
distraction an effective propaganda tool? Use examples.
16. Explain Protagoras’
ideal, using political examples.
17. When and why are fear
appeals an effective propaganda tool? Use examples.
18. When and why is the granfalloon technique an effective propaganda tool? Use
examples.
19. How do escalating
commitments work and how do they influence political decision making, according
to the authors? Use examples.
20. What do the authors
tell us about the effectiveness of information campaigns?
21. How can you (or
someone else) become a cult leader? Use examples.
22. What propaganda
techniques did Nazi propaganda rely on, according to the authors? Use examples.
23. Explain forewarning
and inoculation techniques, using examples.