Abstract
The 2004 U.S. presidential election was determined not by simple demographics and the power of incumbency, but by emotions such as fear and shame, aspects of the self‐concept such as moralism and religiosity, and other psychological phenomena ranging from the self‐deception of voters to the linguistic styles of the candidates. In introducing the papers in this special issue of ASAP on the social psychology of the election, I examine the effect sizes for psychological constructs such as religiosity, moralism, and terror. I suggest that pride and shame are likely determinants of the widely reported exit poll discrepancies, and argue that outgroup homogeneity was critical in determining the outcome of the election.