Process Preferences and Anti-democratic Attitudes
Bloeser, Andrew,° Tarah Williams,° Candaisy Crawford*(‘19), & Brian Harward. “Are Stealth Democrats Really Committed to Democracy? Process Preferences, Revisited.” Perspectives on Politics, forthcoming. (Media coverage: The Conversation, PRRI)
Previous research identified stealth democrats as those who wished to avoid conflict and, thus, did not want to see democratic processes. Our work revisits this hypothesis. We find that a substantial portion of those who appear to be stealth democrats in 2019 are not merely seeking to avoid disagreement. Instead, they want a protective leader who will exercise their wishes, even if that comes at the expense of others and democratic practice. This project is ongoing and supported by an APSA Centennial grant.
Race, Class, and Economic Policy Judgments
Bloeser, Andrew and Tarah Williams. 2022. “The Color of Class Politics: Economic Position, Racial Resentment, and Attitudes about Redistribution.” Politics, Groups, and Identities 10(2): 233-253.
Our research suggests that contrary to existing narratives, racial attitudes matter more in determining the economic policy attitudes of those with higher incomes. Racial resentment appears to have a much smaller (or even negligible) effect on the economic judgments of those with lower incomes.
Gender, Race, and Persuasion
Testa, Paul F., Tarah Williams, Kylee Britzman and Matthew V. Hibbing. 2021.“Getting the Message? Choice, Self-Selection, and the Efficacy of Social Movement Arguments.” Journal of Experimental Political Science 8: 296–309. (Media Coverage: The Washington Post, SELF)
Williams, Tarah, Paul F. Testa, Kylee Britzman, and Matthew V. Hibbing. 2021. “Messengers Matter: Why Advancing Gender Equality Requires Male Allies.” PS: Political Science & Politics 54 (3).
An ongoing collaborative project I am involved in asks whether women are as politically persuasive as men. Our preliminary findings suggest that women are perceived as less persuasive than men, but that this perception may not match reality. This ongoing research is supported by the Center for American Women and Politics, the Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics, and an APSA Centennial Grant.
Racial Context
Wong, Cara, Jake Bowers, Tarah Williams, and Katharine Drake. 2012. “Bringing the Person Back In: Boundaries, Misperceptions, and the Measurement of Racial Context.” The Journal of Politics 74 (4): 1153-1170.
My previous research also stems from an interest in questions about how our social surroundings influence political behavior. A collaborative project led by Cara Wong investigated how individuals define their social context using a unique map-drawing measure. It further explored how subjective and objective context collectively contribute to political perceptions and attitudes.