"In-groups/Out-groups: The Psychology of Politics" w/ Dr. Allyson Shortle

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: [email protected] don't think it takes a political scientist to tell us that politics is really all about psychology, but this week we thought we'd ask anyways. Dr. Allyson Shortle is a professor of political science at Oklahoma University whose research field included political psychology! We discuss a wide range of issues from what causes polarization in our politics, our tendency to deify our "in-groups", and why the recent killing of Tyre Nichols just feels different. Dr. Shortle also discusses why it's important to talk about political issues even with family who may not agree. Whether you're curious about the effect of political identity on the choices we make, or why entertainment plays a large role in how we consume news, this episode will answer all those questions and much more!Guest Bio:Dr. Shortle is an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma, where she studies group identity in the context of American political behavior. She also serves as a faculty member for Latinx Studies and Women and Gender Studies. She runs OU’s Community Engagement + Experiments Laboratory (CEEL), Oklahoma City’s Community Poll (Exit Poll), and OU’s Democracy Survey of OU freshmen. For fun, she lends research support to organizations seeking to increase civic engagement and improve physical and mental health of their communities.For the 2022 midterms, Dr. Shortle’s exit poll class will be helping SoonerPoll, News9 (OKC), and News on 6 (Tulsa), to poll early voters around the state. Her students will also be polling voters in OKC’s urban core on Election Day. Stay tuned!Dr. Shortle’s new co-authored Cambridge University Press book, The Everyday Crusade: Christian Nationalism in American Politics (2022 – w. Eric L. McDaniel and Irfan Nooruddin), examines the relationship between American religious exceptionalism and prejudicial and antidemocratic attitudes. She is currently extending this line of research to examine the many faces of ethnocultural nationalism (EN) – defining American identity according to ascriptive traits such as race, religion, and gender (w. Ana Bracic and Mackenzie Israel-Trummel). Based on their recent publication on EN’s relationship to family separation policy attitudes, they will analyze EN’s relationship to a wide array of policy attitudes and behavioral outcomes across several countries. She also has an emerging research agenda focused on the intersection of religious identity and behavioral political administration.At the doctoral level, she teaches courses on group identity, public opinion/political psychology, and behavioral research methods. Support Sarah Stankorb’s work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: [email protected] Wright, Political Host: [email protected] Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast