short essay

The purpose of this essay is to examine the bases of ideological perspectives. This assignment has three parts but the essence of the assignment is part 2*, this is where the bulk of the points will be scored.

1. Your ideology
   1. Take the PEW typology quiz http://www.people-press.org/quiz/political-typology/ (Links to an external site.)
   2. How were you categorized?
   3. Are you at all surprised by your results?
2. Examine the bases of your ideological perspective in terms of:
   1. Chapter 6, “Public Opinion” of your Open to Debate e-text
   2. Jonathan Haidt and George Lakoff who look at differences in ideology as manifestations of deep-seated moral values. I will be expecting references to Haidt and Lakoff in your essay and you should find the following resources to be of help.
      1. Haidt, “What Makes People Vote Republican” Ch. 6 Reader
      2. Jonathan Haidt TED Talk: https://embed.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_can_a_divided_america_heal (Links to an external site.)
      3. Lakoff, “Don’t Underestimate Trump” Ch. 6 Reader
3. Please relate your understanding of the cognitive bases of ideological reasoning, above, to the narratives employed in the 2016 presidential election: https://businessofstory.com/podcast/brander-chief-dr-randy-olson-explains-power-trumps-narrative-intuition/ (Links to an external site.). What about facts: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/donald-trump-lies-liar-effect-brain-214658 (Links to an external site.)?

Source Material:

1. Open to Debate e-text: Chapter Six Public Opinion
   1. Power-point lecture outlines (in the Chapter 6 Canvas Module
   2. Video Lectures, also in the Chapter 6 Canvas Module (many students find these to be particularly helpful):
2. American Government Examined e-reader:
   1. Chapter Six: Haidt, “What Makes People Vote Republican”
   2. Chapter Six: Lakoff “Don’t Underestimate Trump”
3. Online:
   1. Jonathan Haidt TED Talk: https://embed.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_can_a_divided_america_heal (Links to an external site.)
   2. Trump’s Lies v. Your Brain: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/donald-trump-lies-liar-effect-brain-214658 (Links to an external site.)
   3. How Trump’s Narrative Intuition Beat Clinton: https://businessofstory.com/podcast/brander-chief-dr-randy-olson-explains-power-trumps-narrative-intuition/ (Links to an external site.)

Tips for Success:

• I will be looking for direct references to assigned readings (author and page # citations are adequate). Again, this is an assignment in which I am looking for your ability to display your knowledge of course materials!

Grading Rubric:
Part 1:	4 points
Part 2:	8 points
Part 3:	6 points
Writing Mechanics:	2 points
Total possible:	20 points