I am an Associate Professor in Quantitative Political Psychology at the University of Leeds and a founder for the Political Studies Association’s Political Psychology Specialist Group (PPSG-UK). Previous to my position at Leeds, I was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Vienna (2012-2013) and a Lecturer in Electoral Politics at the University of Exeter (2010-2011). I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from Michigan State University in 2009, specializing in Comparative Politics and Democratic Theory. My dissertation examined the psychological and social-psychological causes of ideological identification in a cross-national perspective. I also possess an M.A. in political science (2006), a B.A. in Psychology (2001), and a B.A. in Criminal Justice (1999).

I am a quantitative researcher who takes a social-psychological perspective toward most, if not all, social and political issues. My research focuses broadly on issues relating to values and perceptions of voice in cross-national perspective. This often puts my research at the intersection of institutional and individual considerations. Specifically, my research looks at how political culture and institutions impact value orientations, particularly individual-level authoritarianism, and the effects this has on understandings of democracy, partisan support and identification, and social tolerance; and how various forms of representation facilitate or inhibit perceptions of voice in the political systems and trust in representatives and representative institutions.

My primary objective as a university lecturer is to help students acquire the skills necessary to critically analyze and assess information in general and regarding society and government in particular. I view social science and the research methods we utilize as fundamental for gaining an understanding of how humans and the social environments in which we live function. I largely ignore disciplinary boundaries, using any material I see as relevant to the topic at hand in my classes and conduct such in a way designed to build analytic capability and expose students to as wide a variety of perspectives as possible.

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Teaching and Research Positions

University of Leeds

Lecturer - Leeds, UK

Sept 2013 – Current

Courses (Modules):

  • Data Analysis in Political Science (M.Sc.)
  • Political Psychology - Authority and Obedience (B.A.)
  • Advanced Data Analysis (B.A.)
  • Analyzing Data in Politics (B.A.)
  • Comparative Politics (B.A.)

Departmental Activities:

  • Leeds Institute for Data Analytics, Education and Training Board
  • M.Sc. in Political Science Program Designer & Lead
  • Faculty Research Ethics Committee
  • Year-in-Industry Placement Supervisor
  • School-Library Partnership Coordinator
  • B.A. & M.A. Personal Tutor
  • B.A. & M.A. Dissertation Supervisor
University of Vienna

Post-doctoral Researcher - Vienna, Austria

University of Vienna Campus Photo

Apr 2012 – Jan 2013 (10 months)

Research:

The “Representation in Europe: Policy Congruence between Citizens and Elites” project.



Michigan State University

Instructor - Michigan, US

June 2006 – Aug 2009 (3 yrs 2 months)

Courses (Modules):

  • The Political Psychology of Authority and Obedience;
  • Political Socialization and Public Opinion
  • American Constitutional Law;
  • American National Government;
  • The American Judicial Process

Departmental Activities:

  • Student-Faculty Judiciary Committee Member
University of Exeter

Lecturer - Exeter, UK

Sept 2010 – Aug 2011 (1 yr)

Courses (Modules):

  • The Political Psychology of Authority and Obedience (M.A. course);
  • The Politics of Authority and Obedience;
  • Electoral Politics

Departmental Activities:

  • Undergraduate & Graduate (M.A.) Advisor
  • Undergraduate & Graduate (M.A.) Dissertation Supervisor
  • Open-day Politics Department Representative
  • U.S. Foreign Study Discussion Host

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