RESEARCH INTERESTS
Unpacking the role of emotions and cognition in shaping political violence & conflict
Researching how exposure to political violence influences short- and long-term political attitudes
Investigating the role of leaders, groups & bureaucracies in shaping security policy and international diplomacy
Examining psychological pathways driving electoral polarization and radicalization into violent extremism
Studying the dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its effects on political attitudes & public health
Illuminating how gender dynamics shape and are shaped by political conflict and violence
ABOUT ME
I am an Associate Professor in the Political Science Department at Washington University in St. Louis. I completed my PhD in Political Science at the University of Michigan.
My research and teaching combine my substantive interests in international relations and psychological approaches to politics, bridging rational and behavioral paradigms to quantitatively examine the psychology of global political violence. This research agenda directly engages with central questions of international security by analyzing public opinion dynamics in protracted conflict, the persuasive power of rhetoric in transnational extremist movements, perceptual processes in diplomacy and foreign policy-making, and the role of emotions in shaping cycles of war and violence. This research agenda directly engages with central questions of international security by analyzing public opinion dynamics in protracted conflict, the persuasive power of rhetoric in transnational extremist movements, perceptual processes in diplomacy and foreign policy-making, and the role of emotions in shaping cycles of war and violence.
My work has been published in the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, International Organization, Journal of Politics, World Politics, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research, Comparative Political Studies, Journal of Global Security Studies, Political Psychology, Political Behavior, Public Opinion Quarterly, and European Psychologist. My first book, The Polythink Syndrome (with Alex Mintz), was awarded the 2016 Alexander George Book Award by the International Society of Political Psychology for best book in the field of political psychology. My second book, Beyond Rationality: Behavioral Political Science in the 21st Century (with Alex Mintz & Nicholas Valentino) with Cambridge University Press was published in 2021. This book aims to provide a unifying framework of behavioral approaches to political science and is designed as an introductory text for graduate students and other scholars interested in integrating behavioral approaches with rational choice models of politics. My work has been supported by several grants, including a 2023 NSF to investigate radicalization processes in the global white nationalist movement. In 2024, I received the Jim Sidanius Early Career Award from the International Society of Political Psychology, celebrating exceptional achievement for researchers within a decade of their PhD.
I am also dedicated to building research communities and have taken on leadership roles reflecting this commitment, including as Director of WashU's WUSTEPS Inititiative, a residential pipeline program designed to prepare students with limited access to research opportunities for PhD programs. At WashU, I currently teach courses on international relations, terrorism and counterterrorism, the psychology of war, and behavioral approaches to the study of international relations.