Below are descriptions of my ongoing research projects. My CV can be found here.
Book Project
The Political Resource Curse in Eastern Coal Country (Book Project)
For more than 100 years, the coal industry has dominated the economy and politics of mining areas in Appalachia and the Illinois Basin. This project documents how single-industry dominance shaped local governments in mining areas and traces the long-term consequences of captured, low-capacity institutions for modern political behavior. A paper drawing on material from the book project is available here.
Political Relevance of Knowledge about Social Groups
Social group knowledge and issue attitudes (with Neil O’Brian)
In 1964, Converse suggested that social group attitudes produce stability in and constraint between issue attitudes. We test this assertion and, using data reaching from the 1970s to the present, illustrate how the role of social groups in issue attitudes has changed with the growth of mass partisanship. Paper available here.
Journalist and Public Perceptions of Polarization (with Neil O’Brian)
Americans overestimate polarization between social groups on matters of group-related public policy. We argue these perceptions are caused by media portrayals. Using a large survey of political news producers, we demonstrate that political journalists, like the mass public, overrestimate group polarization. We then provide evidence linking these perceptions to the production and public interpretation of political news.
Political Participation
Race and Participation in Small Groups
In a series of papers with Tali Mendelberg and Christopher Karpowitz, we draw on 500 mock jury deliberations to study how participants of different racial backgrounds make their voices heard in discussions and their opinions reflected in group decisions.
Neighborhood Context and Political Participation
(With Tali Mendelberg and Ryan Enos) Using data from the Moving to Opportunity experiment merged with a national voter file, we study the effects of changes in neighborhood poverty on political participation–and how these effects vary by participants’ age at the time of the intervention.
Psychological power and political participation
This project explores the political implications of feeling powerful. Evidence from several large, high-quality surveys suggests that people who feel in control of what happens in their lives participate in politics at higher rates. Using panel data and survey experiments, I shed light on whether this relationship is causal. Paper available upon request.
Methods for Survey Research
Name characteristics for survey experiments (with Matthew Hayes)
This project presents a public dataset ( available here ) of the perceived characteristics of more than 1000 common American first names. Survey experimenters using names to cue race or gender can use this data to select names that clearly signify a particular group membership without cuing other confounding attributes.
Attitude formation and change (with Casey Ste. Claire)
In this line of research, we investigate the causes and consequences of strong political attitudes. Building on Converse’s black and white model, as well as more recent work in social psychology on attitude formation processes, we propose a model of attitude strength as jointly determined by features of the context, attitude object, and individual. Paper available upon request.
Geography and Political Behavior
Geographic Identity
In a working paper, I develop a concept of geographic identity, or the extent to which a place is a part of an individual’s self-concept. A large survey (n=9,000) provides evidence that states with residents who are more attached to their state have higher levels of social capital. Paper available upon request.