Course Syllabus

 

Psychology of Political Behavior

Semester & Location:	Spring 2024 - DIS Stockholm
Type & Credits:	Elective Course - 3 credits
Prerequisite:	One psychology course at university level.
Faculty:	Ebba Karlsson (current students please use the Canvas Inbox)
Program Contact:	Department email address psy.cns@dis.dk
Academic Support:	academics@disstockholm.se
Time & Place:	Mondays and Thursdays, 11:40-13:00 Classroom: 1D-410

Course Description

This course emphasizes the psychological mechanisms affecting political reasoning and behavior, such as how psychological biases affect our cognition, information-processing, and political behavior. Comparisons between U.S. and Swedish political contexts are explored, specifically examining how the political mind is embedded in social frameworks. This course is based on theory and research from the field of political psychology, an interdisciplinary academic field studying the relationships between psychological and political processes.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students are expected

• To understand and describe principles and concepts related to political cognition such as information processing, decision-making, and perception.
• To understand the ways in which moral psychology shapes political orientation and conflict
• To apply theory and analyze political phenomena in daily life from a psychological perspective.
• To critically evaluate scientific methods and research within the field of political psychology.
• To contrast and consider cultural differences between American and European political contexts.
• To understand the dominant political ideologies in Sweden and how they differ from the US
• To develop a nuanced understanding of how evolutionary forces - both biological and cultural - influence our political orientations and behavior
• To further develop essential skills – in analytical thinking and in both oral and written presentation - that are vital not only in navigating academic studies, but in flourishing in the game of life.

Faculty

 

Ebba Karlsson

DIS Stockholm Faculty

M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology (Stockholm University, 2015), B.A. in Philosophy (Stockholm University, 2013). Visiting student in Politics and Public Policy at New York University, and research internship at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University. Founder of Poplar, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving political civility in society. Also working as a licensed clinical psychologist and organizational consultant, focusing on leadership development, stress resilience, and well-being. With DIS since 2016.

Readings

Core Readings

Books

Haidt, J. (2012). The righteous mind: Why good people are divided by politics and religion. Vintage.

Articles

Duarte, J. L., Crawford, J. T., Stern, C., Haidt, J., Jussim, L., & Tetlock, P. E. (2015) Political diversity will improve social psychological science. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 38, e130.

Hawkins, S., Yudkin, D. & Juan-Torres, M.  (2018) Hidden Tribes: A Study of America's Polarized Landscape. More In Common

Kahan, D. M., Peters, E., Dawson, E. C., & Slovic, P. (2017). Motivated numeracy and enlightened self-government. Behavioural public policy, 1(1), 54-86.

Pronin, E. (2007). Perception and misperception of bias in human judgment. Trends in cognitive sciences, 11(1), 37-43.

Rauch, J. (2016 July/August) How American Politics Went insane. The Atlantic.

Stenner, K. (2009). Three kinds of “conservatism”. Psychological Inquiry, 20(2-3), 142-159.

 

Movies and other media

Netflix:  "The Social Dilemma"

Link

 

Field Studies

Field Study 1: A visit to the Riksdag 

• Topic: Understanding Swedish political system and contemporary political context, focusing on government and the legal system.
• Objective: To learn how the Swedish government and parliamentary system works, with both historical and contemporary perspectives. To identify and understand cultural differences between the political system in Sweden and the US.
• Description: We will visit the Swedish parliament, where we will get a tour of the parliament building as well as meeting with a Swedish MP.

Field Study 2: – TBA

Approach to Teaching

Our approach to teaching is based on a core assumption: Learning is a collective endeavor in which the contribution of each individual has an impact on how much is learned overall. Lectures can serve a valuable purpose both in providing useful information and in stimulating creative thought. But genuine learning takes place only when the student takes an active role –in reading carefully, thinking critically, raising questions and objections, and listening to others. It is only through engaged dialogue that we have the capacity to enrich our understanding of the world. My expectation is that students will actively engage in the learning process, both inside and outside the classroom.   

The course utilizes a variety of pedagogical methods, including lectures, discussions, student presentations, and study visits. There is a strong emphasis on discussion and student participation. Everyone is expected to not only complete the readings for each class, but to come to class well-prepared to engage in discussion.

Attendance at all lectures and field studies is mandatory.

Note that it is important to check your e-mail and DIS Canvas regularly since outlines, exam info etc. will be distributed here.

Expectations of the Students

Students are expected to have done the readings and come prepared with relevant questions and notes for each class. This will give us material to generate conversation. When responding to questions in class, make reference to our readings to support the points you are making. Students are expected to challenge themselves and their worldviews with an investigative mindset and curiosity, seeking to understand the topics at hand as well as how they relate to themselves as individuals and the world around them.

A Word on Laptops in the Classroom

The default policy for this class is NO laptops in the classroom.  Both academic research and personal experience have shown laptops to be an enormous source of distraction and an impediment to engaged discussion as well as learning. We thank you for your understanding. 

 

Grading

Methods of Evaluation	How evaluated	Percentage of grade
Attendance/Engaged participation	Individual	25%
Group presentations	Group/individual	20%
Midterm Exam/Take Home Exam - Haidt	Individual	25%
The Debate	Group and individual	15%
Final Exam/Final Take Home Reflections	Individual	15%
Total		100%

Pre-class Prep :

You are expected to do all the readings and be prepared to give a POP-presentation at the beginning of all classes (this will be explained at the course introduction).

Attendance/Engaged Participation:

Your participation grade reflects the importance of being active in this course, which relies in great part on the reflections, discussions, and exercises in class. Students are expected to come prepared with relevant questions for discussion pertaining to the topic, as well as making contributions with relevant analytical insights and critical evaluations. The participation grade also takes into consideration punctuality.

There will be a self-report regarding engaged participation mid-term which you will fill in and get feedback on.

Mid-term Take-Home Exam:

There will be a take-home exam covering the theories and concepts developed in the main book of the course.

Group work

Students will be sorted into groups and hold their own class where they present a deeper analysis regarding a key concept/research finding from the course. The class/presentation should include both a theoretical background and a case study applying it to real-life political phenomena. A critical perspective should be taken, unanswered questions should be raised and potential for future intervention/research should be considered.

You will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• How well do you explain the concept/research finding you have chosen? From background to more in-depth analysis and critical perspectives.
• Relevance and clarity on how the connection between the concept and real-life political phenomena is drawn.
• How well the presentation and visuals are done.
• Facilitation of class discussion and reflection.
• Group coeherence and collaboration.
• Formalia (i.e. correct referencing, time allocation, etc.)

The Debate

There will be a debate where you will be assigned to different groups and defend a certain position on a topic related to important concepts and themes from the course. You will be graded both on an individual and group level.

Final Take-Home Reflections

At the end of the semester, you will write a paper with your final reflections on your experience and learnings throughout the course.

Please write 2-3 double-spaced pages about the most important/valuable things you have learned throughout the course. You can choose to write about one single concept or about several different ones. Try to connect the learnings with things happening outside of the course as well, it can be your personal life, society in general, or anything else. Again, you can choose to zoom in on one aspect or several different ones. Think something like a pop-presentation but for the whole course. Please use APA style for all references.

The grade will be based on the following:

Overall structure and writing style - is it eloquent, clearly structured, with correct references?

Is there a demonstration of a deeper understanding and reflections on the learnings from the course? How well are the theories/concepts applied? Is there a critical perspective and nuanced understanding of the course concepts and discussions?

 

To be eligible for a passing grade in this class you must complete all of the assigned work.

 

Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on: 

• Course Enrollment and Grading  
• Academic Expectations and Honor Code 

 

 

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