Suchergebnisse

This lecture honors the contribution of Ithiel de Sola Pool to empirical political theory, a field pioneered by Pool, David Easton, and Gabriel Almond, inter alia. The author discusses what studying altruism and genocide taught her about broader themes in political, social and moral theory and then suggests how she developed a new theory of moral choice in order to explain the surprising finding that identity trumped choice for all participants she interviewed about their actions during the Holocaust and World War II. Adapted from the source document.

The 2008 Presidential Address presents the theory of ethical perspective, an identity theory of moral psychology designed to detect the psychological influences on moral choice. Part 1 treats findings on altruism and genocide as an analytical lens through which we can gain insight into political and moral behavior. Part 2 describes moral psychology as a field, presenting a new and broader conceptualization for the discipline. Part 3 outlines an identity theory of moral choice that focuses on the critical role of the ethical perspective, to suggest how an empirically based theory of moral choice looks in practice. Part 4 concentrates on the basic assumptions underlying the theory of ethical perspective. It presents empirical evidence that supports this theoretical framework, from fields as diverse as neuroscience and primatology to child development and linguistics, thus demonstrating political psychology's important links to other disciplines. In addition to presenting a new theory of moral psychology, designed to fill an important gap in the literature on ethics and moral choice, the Address treats studies of altruism and genocide as an illustration of research that reveals broader insight into the nature of political psychology as a discipline.

The Committee on the Status of Women in the Profession wants to encourage more members of the APSA to participate in the mentoring program. Mentoring is not just for junior scholars; mentoring goes on one's entire professional career. Senior scholars can help in immeasurable ways as a mentee moves through different stages in the profession, becoming a senior scholar, moving through the administrative ranks—department chair, dean, even president of the university of college—or pursues a career outside academia. Mentoring can be part of a formal program and narrowly focused on how to get published, do research, and improve teaching, but it also can be ad hoc, informal, and can include how one assumes a greater role in professional societies or politics in general. It also addresses integration of life choices, touching on the issues that are important to us as people as well as scholars, and how our roles as human beings relate to our identities as scholars and teachers. So the concept of mentoring is broad.

What turns neighbors into genocidalists? Why do some stand by, while others risk their lives to help? A narrative analysis of interviews with rescuers, bystanders, and Nazi supporters during World War II focuses attention on self‐image, worldview, and cognitive categorization as critical influences. Rescuers, bystanders, and Nazis demonstrated dramatically different self concepts, yet identity constrained choice for all groups. A critical aspect of identity is relational: the sense of self in relation to others. Worldview, canonical expectations, and idealized cognitive models are critical determinants, with the ethical importance of values emanating not from particular values but from the integration of these values into the speaker's sense of self. Finally, cognitive categorization carries strong ethical overtones. The dehumanization that spurs perpetrators and the sense of moral salience that drives rescuers work through the cognitive classification of "the other."

It is contended that the contributions of the Chicago school of political science's to US political science from 1920-1940 have been forgotten but not completely disregarded. The Chicago school is separated into two distinct periods; whereas the Chicago school that achieved national prominence during the 1920s & 1930s adopted sociological perspectives & was led by Charles E. Merriam & Harold Lasswell, it is stated that the second Chicago school, which emerged immediately following the end of WWII, primarily utilized behavioralist paradigms & was lead by Leo Strauss. Indeed, it is claimed that the first Chicago school was largely responsible for the emergence of the behavioralist slant of its successor, despite Strauss's criticism of behavioralist perspectives, & the transformation of political science departments at other US institutions. It is speculated that the Chicago schools have been forgotten because much of behavioralism has been incorporated into or supplanted by rational choice approaches. Nevertheless, it is concluded that the Chicago school's contributions remain relevant to present-day social science. 18 References. J. W. Parker

Introduces the establishment & general goals of the Task Force on Mentoring established by the American Political Science Assoc Council. The Task Force was created to provide guidance & mentoring assistance with focus on the needs of women & people of color. L. Collins

I wish to address four related themes that run throughout our
discussions. In doing so, I find much about which I agree with the
other panelists although I might modify certain propositions in ways
that may alter these propositions so significantly as to be
critical.