Paper Assignment #2

Due April 8

Marcus et al identify several different determinants of tolerance decisions. Antecedent considerations are broken into predispositions such as personality, global sense of threat, and political expertise, and the standing decisions about commitment to democratic norms, decisions to tolerate the disliked groups, and perceived threat. The second set of determinants is contemporary information, including perceptions of the group’s activities and power, the use of cognitive or emotional cues, interpretations of democratic norms, and the credibility of the information or source. For this paper I would like you to propose a way to manipulate one or more of these determinants in a school setting (either secondary or college/university) to increase tolerance of disliked groups. Note: I want you to start with the assumption that tolerance is a good thing. For this paper, I am not interested in whether or not you agree with this statement. That is a different topic for a different class.

You will be evaluated by how clearly you demonstrate your understanding of the book. Marcus et al develop a large and complex theory and I want you to focus on one piece. You should be able to identify in roughly one paragraph the setting you choose and the group that whose actions are often not tolerated. With this BRIEF introduction, you should identify one or more of the components of the theory, and explain how it fits into the broader theory. This is the key to the paper. Demonstrate to me you know how this theory works. It is not enough to say “Marcus et al say threat is important, therefore I will try to change threat.” Instead I want you to explain why threat (or any other component) is important.

The final piece of the paper is to suggest ways in which a school can attempt to manipulate this. Marcus et al manipulate most of these components (or at least suggest how differences are created). But these manipulations are very short lived. They (presumably) only influence people for the brief period surrounding the experiment. What I am asking you to do is more difficult. Think of a way that may change the determinant for a longer period of time in a real world setting and explain WHY you think something may change it.

Again, the key is to demonstrate an understanding of the theory. Why one of the components influences tolerance decisions, and what exactly that component is.