September 3, 2008
Convention '08: Macalester Class Examines the Psychology of the Presidency
St. Paul—Since the announcement last Friday, there’s been no end to the speculation about why John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, chose Sarah Palin, the little-known governor of Alaska, to be his running mate.
But it’s likely that few political observers are analyzing Senator McCain’s decision in light of social-identity theory. Well, few observers outside of the 18 first-year students enrolled in Kendrick Brown’s course, “Psychology of Presidential Politics,” at Macalester College, here in St. Paul.
Mr. Brown, an associate professor and chairman of the psychology department, said the course, which is one of several offered exclusively to incoming students, grew out of his own interest in the political process. “And given this election, and the fact that the Republican convention is here, I felt like there was a lot to say,” he says. “I’m interested in the ebb and flow, the give and take, of politics.”
The course, Mr. Brown says, uses psychological principles and theories to examine issues like how voters’ attitudes and political beliefs are formed, how Americans perceive presidential character and leadership, and what it means for a candidate to claim a mandate for action once elected.
It’s not the only course, of course, using the election as a teachable moment. At Macalester, in fact, another course is focusing on the Electoral College using statistical principles, said Barbara Laskin, a college spokeswoman.
On Tuesday, Mr. Brown and his students spent much of their time dissecting Mr. McCain’s choice of Ms. Palin, a continuation, he said, of a discussion the group had been having in an online component of the course. Students talked about what Senator McCain was “trying to achieve” in his selection, with Mr. Kendrick nudging them to think about it in terms of social-identity theory, the idea that there are in groups and out groups. Was Mr. McCain, he asked, trying to take advantage of group bias among former Hillary Clinton supporters who want to see a woman in the White House?
Mr. Brown is encouraging his students to experience the conventions, and the protests, firsthand, and to watch the speeches, and their coverage, on television. Next week, he hopes to talk about perceptions of Mr. McCain’s acceptance speech, slated for Thursday, with that of his Democratic counterpart, Barack Obama.
Karin Fischer | Posted on Wednesday September 3, 2008 | PermalinkComments
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McCain’s choice was brilliant for numerous reasons, not the least of which was hindering Clinton’s ability to contest him in 2012. I hope this interesting-sounding course goes into that level of depth and detail.
— Trancel Ruckus Sep 3, 01:50 PM #
We have a series of bets and side-bets going in my office, the subject of which is: will Palin actually be able to stay on the ticket? I wouldn’t bet either way!
— barbara Sep 3, 04:40 PM #
FYI, I think we should respect the education of Professor Brown and correctly call him Dr. Brown.
— Sarah Raleigh Sep 5, 10:21 AM #
go mac. woot.
— Timothy Lee Sep 5, 01:00 PM #
I’m in that class. And it’s an absolutely amazing class taught by an absolutely amazing teacher.
— Mac Student Sep 16, 02:28 PM #