Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy

The collection of seventeen papers that comprises ASAP's virtual issue on The Social Psychology of the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election examines a number of facets of the social and political psychology of the election, and includes analyses of the continuing significance of race and racism, of sex and sexism, and of cognitive processes in an America divided into Red and Blue. The papers also investigate the roles of emotions such as hope, fear, and existential anxiety, and, finally, some of the ways in which winning, losing, and simply voting can bolster, injure, and inform the self-concept.

Read the virtual issue here.

Human migration brings with it social challenges. In the United States in the early 21st Century, these challenges appear magnified by an atmosphere of economic distress and political opportunism. The present virtual issue on Social Psychology and Contemporary Immigration Policy examines some of the human costs of immigration policy, as borne by individuals, families, social institutions, and communities. The collection is organized in six sections. The first four include original scholarship on Challenges for law enforcement, Group relations and social justice, Effects of policy upon individuals and communities, and Media effects. These are followed by distinguished commentary. Finally, the virtual issue provides direct links to other recent SPSSI publications on immigration.

Read the virtual issue here.

ASAP’s virtual issue on Military Social Influence provides an introduction to both the nature of military social influence and some of the ethical issues which frame it. The collection includes a target article by Dr. Sara King, seven comments and an author's rebuttal; the comments are noteworthy not merely in the breadth of the concerns they raise but also in the diversity of their geographical origins, with contributors from Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and Taiwan, as well as the United States. Taken together, this provides a global perspective on military social psychology that is unique, is thought-provoking, and that will be of interest to a wide range of students, scholars, and analysts.

Read the virtual issue here.