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Political Psychology Midterm 3
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72
Psychology
Undergraduate 2
05/02/2010

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Term
ally image
Definition
a country or group perceived to be equal to the perceiver's country in terms of culture and capability, with good intentions, multiple groups in decision-making roles, and associated with threat or opportunity
Term
barbarian image
Definition
a country or group perceived to be superior in capability, inferior in culture, monolithic in decision making, and associated with extreme threat
Term
colonial image
Definition
a country or group perceived as inferior in culture and capability, benign in intentions, monolithic in decision making, and associated with opportunity
Term
core community non-nation-states
Definition
countries with a dominant ethnic or sectarian community, who believe that they are the primary nation embodied in the country and identify with that nation in the terms. in addition, that community tends to have great capability and control of the political system
Term
degenerate image
Definition
a country or group perceived as superior or equal in culture and capability, but lacking resolve and will. it is associated with perceptions of opportunity.
Term
enemy image
Definition
the enemy is perceived as relatively equal in capability and culture. in its most extreme form, the diabolical enemy is seen as irrevocably aggressive in motivation, monolithic in decisional structure, and highly rational in decision making (to the point of being able to generate and orchestrate multiple complex conspiracies)
Term
imperialist image
Definition
a country or group perceived to be superior in capability, dominating in culture, exploitive in intentions, and associated with threat.
Term
irridentism
Definition
the desire to join together all parts of a national community within a single territorial state
Term
multinational states
Definition
a country in which several groups of people, who think of themselves as separate nations and who actually have the capacity to establish viable independent states, live together in a single country
Term
nation-state
Definition
a state in which the average citizen has a primary identity with the national community, believes that community should be an independent state, and grants that community primary loyalty
Term
nationalism
Definition
the belief that a group of people, or a community, belong together in an independent country, and a willingness to grant that community primary loyalty
Term
rogue image
Definition
a country or group perceived as inferior in culture and capability, with monolithic decision making, and associated with threat
Term
scapegoat
Definition
a group that is blamed for all of society's illnesses
Term
social identity theory
Definition
explores the impact of group identity and desire for positive comparisons to other groups on behavior
Term
authoritarian personality
Definition
a personality type. originally the type was said to contain the traits of conventionalism (rigid adherence to conventional values), submission to authority figures, authoritarian aggression (i.e., aggressive impulses toward those who are not conventional), anti-intraception (i.e. rejection of tenderness, imagination, subjectivity), superstition and stereotype (fatalistic belief in mystical determinants of the future, and rigid thinking), high value placed on power and toughness, destructiveness and cynicism, projectivity (i.e. the projection outward of unacceptable impulses) and an excessive concern with the sexual activity of others. in Altemeyer's (1996) reconceptualization, the type has three trains: authoritarian submission, authoritarian aggression, and conventionalism
Term
conformity
Definition
the tendency to change one's beliefs or behaviors, so that they are consistent with the standards set by the group
Term
culture of terror
Definition
an institutionalized system of permanent intimidation of the masses or subordinated communities by the elite, characterized by the sue of torture, disappearances, and other forms of extrajudicial death squad killings as standard practice. a culture of terror establishes collective fear as a brutal means of social control. in these systems, there is a constant threat of repression, torture, and death for anyone who is actively critical of the political status quo
Term
death squads
Definition
progovernment groups who engage in extrajudicial killings of people they define as enemies of the state
Term
dehumanization
Definition
a process in which a particular social group is regularly described as less than human, and therefore deserving of treatment one would not administer to a human being
Term
deindividuation
Definition
this occurs when people attribute their behavior to the group's behavior and thereby abandon individual responsibility for their own actions. there is a diffusion of responsibility
Term
demographic profiles
Definition
demographic background factors such as economic status, gender, age, religion, occupation, and education are used to construct a profile of an individual
Term
depluralization
Definition
a process of stripping away previous group identities
Term
fundamental interpersonal relations orientation (FIRO)
Definition
an explanation of how joining a group can fulfill psychological needs. according ot this perspective, joining a group can satisfy three basic nees: inclusion (the desire to be part of a group), control (the need to organize an aspect of the group), and affection (the desire to establish positive relations with others). For individuals with these needs, joining a group offers them a way to fulfill these needs.
Term
image theory
Definition
a political psychology concept equivalent to a stereotype of a political group or country. images contain information about a country's capabilities, culture, intentions, the kinds of decision-making groups (lots of people involved in decision making or only a few), and perceptions of threat or opportunity
Term
motivation
Definition
the reason or reasons why individuals look for alternatives to their present life situations
Term
moral disengagement
Definition
the suspension of moral principles that enables individuals to commit inhumane acts
Term
need for affiliation intimacy
Definition
a personality trait involving a concern for close relations with others
Term
need for power
Definition
a personality trait involving a concern for impact and prestige
Term
paramilitaries
Definition
organizations that resort to the physical elimination of presumed auxiliaries of rebel groups and of individuals seen as subversive of the moral order . . . They mostly operate through death squads
Term
propaganda
Definition
the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor
Term
roles
Definition
expectations about how a person ought to behave in a group
Term
suicide bombers
Definition
people willing to commit suicide in order to ensure maximum effectiveness in a terrorist attack
Term
terrorism
Definition
in principle, terrorism is deliberate and systematic violence performed by small numbers of people, whereas communal violence is spontaneous, sporadic, and requires mass participation. the purpose of terrorism is to intimidate a watching popular audience by harming only a few, whereas genocide is the elimination of entire communities. terrorism is meant to hurt, not to destroy. terrorism is preeminently political and symbolic, whereas guerilla warfare is a military activity. repressive terror from above is the action of those in power, whereas terrorism is a clandestine resistance to authority
Term
accountability
Definition
to have one's actions be transparent and evaluated by authorities with the power to punish wrongdoing. political leaders will take greater risks, and be more likely to engage in conflict, the more they lack accountability to a higher power
Term
analogy
Definition
a decision-making heuristic, or shorthand, in which policy makers see a current event or situation as similar to (or sharing many of the same characteristics as) a previous historical event
Term
deterrence
Definition
the threat by one political actor to take actions in response to another actor's potential actions, which would make the costs (or losses) incurred far outweigh any possible benefits (or gains) obtained by the aggressor
Term
fundamental attribution error
Definition
occurs when people attribute other people's behavior to internal, dispositional causes, rather than situational causes
Term
group malfunctions
Definition
faulty group decision processes
Term
groupthink
Definition
governmental policy groups, particularly at high levels, tend to be smaller groups that, in time, develop a pattern of interactions between group members, which emphasizes the maintenance of group cohesion, solidarity, and loyalty. this emphasis upon group cohesion can lead to faulty group decision processes, or group malfunctions
Term
Guns of August analogy
Definition
an analogy based upon the experience of the events leading up to the outbreak of World War I, a war that none of the policy makers desired or intended to have occur
Term
Munich analogy
Definition
if you do not stand up to an aggressor, and instead seek to appease them or make concessions to them in the hopes of keeping the peace, the end result will be only to encourage them to be even more aggressive and probably to bring on the very war you sought to avoid
Term
policy fiascoes
Definition
failures of policy
Term
protracted crisis approach
Definition
the perspective that a crisis should be viewed as a long series of separate and distinct deterrence and compellence exchanges running throughout the crisis from the beginning until the end of any episode
Term
prospect theory
Definition
predicts that individuals will tend to be risk averse in the domain of gains and risk seeking in the domain of losses
Term
risky shift
Definition
when groups tend to take riskier decisions (and more decisions) than to individuals
Term
security dilemma
Definition
conflict in which the efforts made by one state to defend itself are simultaneously seen as threatening by opponents, even if those actions were not intended to be threatening
Term
spiral conflict
Definition
conflict in which each side matches and one-ups the actions taken by the other side. this can produce arms races and other types of aggression that result from misunderstanding each other's motives
Term
Vietnam analogy
Definition
this analogy suggests that any U.S. military intervention will likely result in the same outcome as did American intervention in Vietnam during the 1960s and 70s; an open-ended commitment to a losing cause that will result in tremendous bloodshed for American troops and political unrest at home
Term
contact hypothesis
Definition
the argument that increasing intergroup contact, exposing people to the complexity of group members, breaks down stereotypes
Term
dialogue
Definition
a conflict resolution and reconciliation process by which individuals engage with each other in an open forum in order to speak about their side of the story and to hear the side of others
Term
forgiveness
Definition
restoration of a positive relationship between perpetrator and victim wherein negative emotions toward the perpetrator are replaced with positive emotions and prosocial behavior
Term
perspective taking
Definition
involves empathizing with others, experiencing their perspective and the emotions that it generates in them
Term
reconciliation
Definition
mutual acceptance by groups of each other
Term
shared sovereignty strategies
Definition
an integration strategy in which an ethnic or racial group is given some degree of self-rule
Term
truth and reconciliation commission
Definition
an investigative commission designed to reveal the truths of political violence and to achieve some measure of reconciliation and forgiveness. it gathers evidence, determines accountability, and often recommends policies for the treatment of victims and perpetrators
Term
utilitarian integration strategy
Definition
a strategy to promote integration by satisfying the populations' needs. it requires removing any obstacles to equality of access to important political positions in the country.
Term
empathy
Definition
affective response that mimics another's emotional state
Term
common nationalistic behaviors
Definition
1) hyperresponsive to threat to naiton
2) hyperresponsive to threat to identification as positive
3) desire for reunification
4) susceptible for calls up public sacrifice
5) tolerance of unethical behavior of leadrs
Term
causes of nationalism
Definition
1) social identity theory (Searle-White)
2) RGCT
3) Social dominance theory
4) Psychoanalysis (narcissism of small differences)
Term
Narcissim-aggresion theory
Definition
Narcissists are convinced of their importance and significant, and when others don't share it they become sociopathic and lack empathy
Term
personality traits of terrorists (similar to leadrs)
Definition
need for intimacy, need for power, boredom, reward-seeking behavior, positive affirmation, transformation/redemption, simplification
Term
Situational factors for terrorism
Definition
1) Repressive political system
2) failed/weak state
3) rapid modernization
4) historical antecedents of violence
5) presence of extremist political or religous ideology
6) socioeconomic inequality
7) illegitimate government
8) foreign occupation
9) widespread, acceptable ethnic discrimination
10) charismatic oppositional leaders
Term
Moghaddam's three levels of suicide bombing
Definition
1) individual-revenge or reward
2) organizational-planning/financial support, high visibility for organization
3) environmental-culture celebrates martydrom
Term
processes of recruitment and indoctirnation
Definition
1) vetting
2) depluralization
3) deindividuation
4) dehumanization of outgroups/enemy
Term
Three biases leaders have
Definition
1) once image is formed, it perseveres (belief perseverance)
2) conceptions of states (democracies vs dictatorships)
3) overlearn big events (Vietnam)
Term
Security dilemma components
Definition
1) Collective trap (collective best outcome is thwarted by individual actor's best strategy)
2) Actor-observer bias
3) illusion of transparency (actors assume reason for action is obvious)
Term
Perceptual keys to nuclear deterrence
Definition
1) have to be perceived as crazy enough to go through with it
2) have to communicate threat effectively
3) have to communicate ability to act effectively
Term
Two types of social dilemmas
Definition
1) commons dilemma (collective trap)
2) public goods dilemma (collective fences)
Term
Consequences of groupthink
Definition
1) failure to consider obvious alternatives
2) no contingencies for failure
3) no consideration of risks
4) non-optimal outcomes quickly compound
Term
Roles of accountability
Definition
1) increase direct risk to decision-maker
2) increase motivation
3) increase systematic processing
4) avoid diffusion of responsbility
Term
Characteristics of victims
Definition
1) hypervigilance
2) anxiety
3) anger
4) reduced empathy
5) cynicism
6) apathy
7) social isolaiton
8) temporal isolation
9) short term focus
Term
ABCs of social dilemmas
Definition
Anonymity, amBiguity, Cheating
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