For you students still looking for a capstone, Professor Monica Schneider has room in her capstone titled “Citizen Politics in the United States: Political Psychology.” Here is the description:
The discipline of political science includes the study of why members of the American public behave the way that they do. Understanding political behavior can help us determine if the American public is living up to the challenges of democracy and whether or not measures need to be taken to improve the quality of public participation. While there are many different types of explanations for political behavior, this course will focus on explanations drawn from theories in cognitive and social psychology. We will consider the role of cognition, emotion, personality, stereotypes, and prejudice in American politics as well as the effects of media on our citizens. We will be discussing the role that emotion and thinking play in voting; why some people chose to save Jews in Nazi Germany; whether or not there is a certain personality type for liberals and conservatives; and the role of stereotypes and prejudice in campaigns. Method of instruction is seminar with videos and student presentations, with careful attention to current events.
Since this is a capstone experience, we will emphasize synthesizing different theoretical explanations for behavior. Students will work on their own and in teams to investigate questions of interest. They will be graded on participation, completion of 2 paper assignments, a class presentation, and an exam. No prior psychology or political science is assumed. Please email Professor Monica Schneider if you have more questions (schneimc@muohio.edu).
