Parsing politics and partisanship: A modest proposal The ongoing crisis of mass-victim shootings throughout the nation appears to be a multi-determined phenomenon. Despite the apparent influence of persistent hate rhetoric, the mischaracterization of immigrants, those whose heritage in non-European, and ethnic and racial minorities, media attention and policy discussion has focused on firearm-related legislation and the attribution of such events on individuals with mental illness. As behavioral scientists, and social influence agents, psychologists offer an important service, dispassionately finding and communicating fact, being guided by evidence, rather than emotion, and, perhaps most importantly, training future professionals to honor and emulate these actions. All policy is inherently political. Psychologists and their organizations have tended to avoid entering into the fray, in order to separate their professional and personal/political identities. This workshop will argue that there are inherent differences between the political and the partisan. By dispassionately pursuing the questions with a passion for evidence, by demanding fact over fiction, and requiring reasoned discussion over loudly shouted sound-bites, we serve to amplify the social responsiveness of our profession, our field and our service to the community. By incorporating such awareness in the training curriculum, we amplify our mission as teachers, preparing the next generation of socially responsive psychologists. This workshop is aimed at dispelling the notion that socially responsive, evidence-based action is a misapplication of our roles. All policy is political, we must strive to ensure it is not partisan.
Learning Objectives:
1) Participants will be able to accurately critique the differences between political and partisan actions as psychologists
2) Participants will be able to plan specific actions to disseminate accurate information about the influence of hate rhetoric on social actions
3) Participants will be able to plan and initiate next steps toward best practices for teaching and training students how to be advocates.