2005 Summer Institute in Political Psychology

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

Political psychology is a thriving field of social scientific inquiry with roots in political science and psychology and connections to a range of other social sciences. Political psychologists attempt to understand the psychological underpinnings, roots, and consequences of political behavior. Some of this work attempts to understand political phenomena by applying theories developed through research done in psychological laboratories. Findings regarding mediation and moderation of real-world effects have often led to extensions and revisions of the inspiring psychological theories. Other political psychology involves the development of completely new theory to provide psychological accounts of political phenomena, thus contributing to basic understanding of how the mind works and of social interaction. In light of the vitality of the field and growing graduate student interest, the idea of establishing a summer training institute in political psychology was initially developed at a "futures conference" organized by Professor Margaret Hermann at Ohio State University (OSU) in 1988. That conference was sponsored by the International Society of Political Psychology and set out to develop a ten-year plan for the Society's future. The notion of a Summer Institute emerged as a centerpiece of the conference's proposals. With the support of the ISPP, the first Summer Institute in Political Psychology (SIPP) was taught at Ohio State University in 1991. That first year, 60 participants came to Columbus, Ohio, for intensive lectures, discussion groups, workshops, and information interactions. The participants were primarily graduate students, but they also included undergraduates, professors, and professionals from governments in the US and abroad. Students were drawn from political science, psychology, sociology, economics, history, and other fields. OSU offered SIPP every year from 1991 through 2003, and there was no decline in interest during these 13 years: 60 participants attended in 1991, and 58 participants attended in 2003. In total 658 participants have attended SIPP between 1991 and 2003. After 13 years of hosting SIPP, Ohio State University decided to end its run and pass it along to another university. During all of its years operating SIPP, Ohio State invested a substantial amount of money to cover cash expenses and also donated considerable faculty teaching time. The new budgeting system the university recently adopted has made such underwriting more difficult, as have departures of some faculty in political psychology. After a lengthy evaluation period, the International Society of Political Psychology has selected Stanford University as the new potential home of SIPP. Stanford is prepared to take on this responsibility if sufficient funding can be assembled, and this proposal seeks the remaining required funding to supplement sources of funds already in place. Broader Social Value: The SIPP would enhance the social science capabilities of the current attendees and would also contribute to better research and teaching for generations to come. At Stanford, SIPP would be a 3-week program designed to advance the research capabilities of graduate students from around the world studying political science, psychology, and other social sciences. The Summer Institute would aim to enrich the graduate training experiences of participants by offering a broad and intensified training experience to complement the classroom training that is usually available at graduate institutions. By bringing together a large set of faculty offering lectures on a diverse set of topics, SIPP seeks to expose graduate students to (1) a broad range of research literature in political psychology, (b) the research styles and approaches of an array of scholars working in political psychology, and (c) training in the varied set of research methods employed by political psychologists, as well as (d) creating inter-disciplinary networks among the participants to support their on-going research efforts and cement their long-term commitments to social science scholarship. Stanford is well-positioned to take over hosting SIPP, in light of its history and present. The university has a tradition of excellence and leadership in political psychology among its faculty, including Alexander George, Paul Sniderman, Shanto Iyengar, and Jon Krosnick. Krosnick was co-founder of SIPP at Ohio State and was co-director of it for most of its years there, so he has substantial experience with managing the enterprise. In addition, other Stanford faculty are known for distinguished research relevant to political psychology, including James Fishkin, Norman Nie, Richard Brody, Karen Cook, Lee Ross, Robert Zajonc, Albert Bandura, Doug McAdam, Susan Olzak, Deborah Gruenfeld, Dale Miller, Roderick Kramer, Jonathan Bendor, and others. And nearby universities. faculties include many scholars who would be terrific SIPP lecturers. One of the best ways to enhance research productivity in political psychology over the long term is to recruit and train talented, energetic, and motivated cohorts of scholars to join the field. Because of the importance of political psychology's contributions to political science throughout its history, an investment in feeding this pipeline for the future seems well worthwhile. SIPP offers an opportunity to do so, and Stanford's generous matching funds can make this possible with a relatively modest grant from NSF.