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Research

How do media and civil society organizations work to mitigate misinformed beliefs and to build common ground?

Uninformed and misinformed beliefs about politics and others give rise to distrust, prejudice, and violence that may destabilize democracy. Some political actors generate baseless claims to instigate divisions. Many others consume and spread this misinformation both intentionally and unintentionally.  Yet, some actors and groups—such as civil society organizations, media, scientists, and government—work to mitigate its spread and social divisions . The relationship between these opposing forces motivates my research.

Dissertation: Building Bipartisan Trust in Political Fact-Checking

Fact-checking, a genre of news reporting dedicated to assessing the accuracy of political claims, has the potential to bridge partisan divides. I use it as a forum for research into how media and civil society organizations can more effectively build public trust in evidence-based sources.

The Role of Shared Experiences and Emotions

Vivid, emotional, firsthand experiences may shift even long-held beliefs and predispositions. Using experiments, I investigate conditions under which shared experiences and emotions trigger a reassessment of political reality, bridge partisan divides, and promote democratic accountability.

Measurement and Inferences for Social Science

Given the importance of careful measurement and inferences in social science research, I have also pursued methodological work, such as developing and refining survey measurements of psychological tendencies not directly observable, and exploring ways to improve inferences from social science research.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

While the regional focus of my current research is the U.S., I have published papers that examine how emotions and collective experiences shape public opinion and influence electoral accountability in the contexts of the U.S. (e.g., terrorist attack), Mexico (e.g., Mexican civil war) and South Korea (e.g., catastrophic ferry capsize, local-level infrastructure projects).

United States
South Korea (written in Korean)
Mexico (written in Spanish)
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