Author: Elli Archbold Major: Psychology

Amidst the everchanging world during the fall semester of 2020, I conducted research under Scott Eidelman studying political ideology. This research focuses on the degree to which an individual’s helping behavior is dependent on their political ideology. Many researchers have compiled information over the “tendencies” or “norms” of each political party, but I wanted to create my own, unique and unbiased study to find an actual impact of political ideology on something measurable. Dr. Eidelman helped considerably with the creation of the study and definitely should be credited for laying the foundation of my research. My name is Elli and I am a psychology major, and I am minoring in business and legal studies. As an honors student in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, I knew I wanted my thesis to be over something I truly cared about, and I needed to find a mentor who shares similar interests and opinions as me.

Scott Eidelman is a friendly, intelligent and caring social psychologist. He is outspoken and respectful about his political beliefs and during his lectures, I had an appreciation for his demeanor regarding controversial subjects. As a social psychologist in today’s political climate, it seems as if every conversation about politics is a controversial topic. As a senior currently applying to law schools, it has been inspiring to work alongside someone who is so educated and eloquent when dealing with the polarized nature of today’s political climate.

I knew I wanted to focus my thesis on something related to politics, but I really didn’t know how to fashion that to an experimental form and make a concrete hypothesis. I was interested in studying the effects of sexism and racism, and we eventually came to the conclusion that studying political ideology may be best and while focusing on this we could ask questions about the more specific topics (like sexism and racism). I feel very fortunate to be working on a project that I care so sincerely about, and I am eager to see the results in their entirety when my research is complete.

In my study, an individual is brought into the lab. They are told that they will be receiving letters from another participant in the study, and then are later told they have an opportunity to help this other participant achieve one of their goals if they choose to do so. The other participant eventually reveals their political ideology and then the original participant will decide whether or not they will help the other participant. The purpose of this is to get a better understanding of if out-group biases exist just as strongly for both ideologies or if one ideology will tend to be more inclusive and helpful regardless of beliefs. Each participant is pre-screened for their personal attitudes and beliefs prior to the study.

One of the biggest challenges I faced during this research was switching from an in-person monitored study, to a completely remote self-taught format. During the spring of 2020, my research was similar to a typical study in Memorial Hall, participants would come to the experimental waiting room and one of two lab assistants or myself would be there to greet them and walk them through the study, periodically checking on them to make sure they were doing the study correctly. When the pandemic started, we realized we were going to need to change a ton of this study to make it work in remote form. This transition took time. it was stressful and I felt a sense of urgency around getting it posted because 2020 was an election year, a huge year for politics.

This thesis project has assisted in instilling within me more excitement for attending law school next fall and hopefully finding the niche that I want to be a part of. I know politics is not the most crucial thing in the world, but if we can see the ways in which our ideologies shape our actions, we can learn to grow as a more loving, inclusive and educated society.