Michael Tesler

David O. Sears

The 2008 Election and the Dream of a Post-Racial America

Obama's Race

Jack S. Levy

Leonie Huddy

Political psychology applies what is known about human psychology to the study of politics. It examines how people reach political decisions on topics such as voting, party identification, and political attitudes as well as how leaders mediate political conflicts and make foreign policy decisions. The Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology gathers together a distinguished group of scholars from around the world to shed light on these vital questions. Focusing first on political psychology at the individual level (attitudes, values, decision-making, ideology, personality) and then moving to the collective (group identity, mass mobilization, political violence), this fully interdisciplinary volume covers models of the mass public and political elites and addresses both domestic issues and foreign policy. Now with new material providing an up-to-date account of cutting-edge research within both psychology and political science, this is an essential reference for scholars and students interested in the intersection of the two fields.

Second Edition

The Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology

Generations of readers have learned social psychology from this book-it provides balanced, up-to-date, and accurate coverage of basic topics, research, and theories. Balancing cutting-edge findings and classic work in the field, the user-friendly Social Psychology shows how its methods and theories can be applied to everyday experiences and current social issues. Interesting and easy to read and understand, the topics covered are broad in scope but not overwhelming; these include: perception of people and events; attitudes and influence; social interactions and relationships; helping and hurting others; social psychology and health; and social psychology and the law. Teachers, health professionals, lawyers, business leaders, and people in many different professions will find Social Psychology to be a valuable reference and handbook.

Social Psychology

Shelley E. Taylor

Letitia Anne Peplau

This book presents the basic theories and findings of social psychology, and shows how the principles of this field are relevant to our everyday lives. Written clearly and logically organized, this book presents social psychological theories as a way of understanding current events and social issues, helping the reader to grasp world events as they unfold. The authors of this book have paid special attention to illustrating basic principles of social psychology with topics such as new research on social cognition, attitude formation and change, prejudice, conformity and compliance, social interaction and relationships, the influence of gender in social life, prosocial behavior and aggression, and social psychological perspectives on health, politics, and the law. For those in the fields of psychology and social interaction, and those whose work requires a basic understanding of group dynamics.

Jim Sidanius

James Sidanius

Professor of Psychology and Political Science and Director Institute for Social Science Research David O Sears

Lawrence Bobo

Explores the late-1990s debate surrounding the sources of racism in America. The essays represent three major approaches: the social psychological, the social structural and the non-racially inspired ideology. It assesses the issues on the role of racism in mass politics and public opinion.

The Debate about Racism in America

Racialized Politics

Shana Levin

Colette Van Laar

College campuses provide ideal natural settings for studying diversity: they allow us to see what happens when students of all different backgrounds sit side by side in classrooms, live together in residence halls, and interact in one social space. By opening a window onto the experiences and evolving identities of individuals in these exceptionally diverse environments, we can gain a better understanding of the possibilities and challenges we face as a multicultural nation. The Diversity Challenge—the largest and most comprehensive study to date on college campus diversity—synthesizes over five years' worth of research by an interdisciplinary team of experts to explore how a highly diverse environment and policies that promote cultural diversity affect social relations, identity formation, and a variety of racial and political attitudes. The result is a fascinating case study of the ways in which individuals grow and groups interact in a world where ethnic and racial difference is the norm. The authors of The Diversity Challenge followed 2,000 UCLA students for five years in order to see how diversity affects identities, attitudes, and group conflicts over time. They found that racial prejudice generally decreased with exposure to the ethnically diverse college environment. Students who were randomly assigned to roommates of a different ethnicity developed more favorable attitudes toward students of different backgrounds, and the same associations held for friendship and dating patterns. By contrast, students who interacted mainly with others of similar backgrounds were more likely to exhibit bias toward others and perceive discrimination against their group. Likewise, the authors found that involvement in ethnically segregated student organizations sharpened perceptions of discrimination and aggravated conflict between groups. The Diversity Challenge also reports compelling new evidence that a strong ethnic identity can coexist with a larger community identity: students from all ethnic groups were equally likely to identify themselves as a part of the broader UCLA community. Overall, the authors note that on many measures, the racial and political attitudes of the students were remarkably consistent throughout the five year study. But the transformations that did take place provide us with a wealth of information on how diversity affects individuals, groups, and the cohesion of a community. Theoretically informed and empirically grounded, The Diversity Challenge is an illuminating and provocative portrait of one of the most diverse college campuses in the nation. The story of multicultural UCLA has significant and far-reaching implications for our nation, as we face similar challenges—and opportunities—on a much larger scale.

Social Identity and Intergroup Relations on the College Campus

The Diversity Challenge

Jack Citrin

The results of an opinion poll depict the attitudes of the public toward taxation and how these influenced their decisions to vote for measures to limit taxes and government spending in California

Something for Nothing in California

Tax Revolt

This book uses national public opinion data and public opinion data from Los Angeles to compare ethnic differences in patriotism and ethnic identity and ethnic differences in support for multicultural norms and group-conscious policies. The authors find evidence of strong patriotism among all groups and the classic pattern of assimilation among the new wave of immigrants.

American Identity and the Politics of Multiculturalism

A revised version of this essential interdisciplinary handbook.

Barack Obama’s presidential victory naturally led people to believe that the United States might finally be moving into a post-racial era. Obama’s Race—and its eye-opening account of the role played by race in the election—paints a dramatically different picture. The authors argue that the 2008 election was more polarized by racial attitudes than any other presidential election on record—and perhaps more significantly, that there were two sides to this racialization: resentful opposition to and racially liberal support for Obama. As Obama’s campaign was given a boost in the primaries from racial liberals that extended well beyond that usually offered to ideologically similar white candidates, Hillary Clinton lost much of her longstanding support and instead became the preferred candidate of Democratic racial conservatives. Time and again, voters’ racial predispositions trumped their ideological preferences as John McCain—seldom described as conservative in matters of race—became the darling of racial conservatives from both parties. Hard-hitting and sure to be controversial, Obama’s Race will be both praised and criticized—but certainly not ignored.

David O. Sears

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