Research
Research
Books
The House that Fox Built? Representation, Political Accountability, and the Rise of Cable News (2025) New York: Cambridge University Press. With Kevin Arceneaux, Johanna Dunaway, and Martin Johnson.
Taming Intuition: How Reflection Minimizes Partisan Reasoning and Promotes Democratic Accountability (2017) New York: Cambridge University Press. With Kevin Arceneaux.
Winner of the 2018 Robert E. Lane Award for best book in political psychology, Political Psychology Section, American Political Science Association
Co-winner of the 2018 Best Book Award for best book using experimental methods, Experimental Research Section, American Political Science Association
Reviewed in Public Opinion Quarterly and Political Science Quarterly
Subject of “Critical Dialogue” in Perspectives on Politics
Politics Over Process: Partisan Conflict and Post-Passage Processes in the U.S. Congress (2017) Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. With Hong Min Park and Steven S. Smith.
Reviewed in Perspectives on Politics and Congress & the Presidency
The American Congress, 10th edition (2019) Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield; 9th edition (2015); 8th edition (2013); 7th edition (2011); 6th edition (2009); 5th edition (2007); 4th edition (2006) New York: Cambridge University Press. With Jason M. Roberts and Steven S. Smith.
The American Congress Reader (2009) New York: Cambridge University Press. With Jason M. Roberts and Steven S. Smith.
Refereed Articles
"From Cradle to Congress: The Effect of Birthplace on Legislative Decision-making." With Colin Emrich and Hillary Style. Forthcoming in Political Science Research and Methods.
"An Open Mind or a Big Heart: Possible Routes to Reducing Ingroup Bias." With Kevin Arceneaux. Forthcoming in Political Communication.
"Do Voters Prefer Educated Candidates? How Candidate Education Influences Vote Choice in Congressional Elections." Electoral Studies (2023) 82: 102596, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2023.102596. With Kevin Arceneaux.
"Party Leaders as Welfare-Maximizing Coalition Builders in the Pursuit of Party-Related Public Goods." Public Choice (2023) 194(1): 75-99.
“Time-Dependent Legislative Behavior and Election Outcomes.” Party Politics (2021) 27(3): 565-580. With Lauren M. Rowlands.
"Are Need for Affect and Cognition Culture Dependent? Implications for Global Public Health Campaigns: A Cross-Sectional Study." BMC Public Health (2021) 21: 693, doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10689-w. With Min Zhang, Bei Zhu, Chunlan Yuan, Chao Zhao, Jiaofeng Wang, Qingwei Ruan, Chao Han, Zhijun Bao, Jie Chen, Kevin Arceneaux, and Greg J. Siegle.
“Strategic Candidate Entry and Congressional Elections in the Era of Fox News.” American Journal of Political Science (2020) 64(2): 398-415. With Kevin Arceneaux, Johanna Dunaway, and Martin Johnson.
“Unpacking the Unknown: A Method for Identifying Status Quo Distributions.” Public Choice (2020) 182(1-2): 497-72. With Michael J. Vander Wielen.
“Diffusion in Congress: Measuring the Social Dynamics of Legislative Behavior.” Political Science Research and Methods (2017) 5(3): 511-527. With René Lindstädt and Matthew Green.
“The Influence of News Media on Political Elites: Investigating Strategic Responsiveness in Congress.” American Journal of Political Science (2016) 60(1): 5-29. With Kevin Arceneaux, Martin Johnson, and René Lindstädt.
Research findings described in the Washington Post’s public affairs blog The Monkey Cage, October 30, 2013.
Research findings described in the London School of Economic’s American politics and policy blog USAPP, April 2, 2015.
“The General Segmented Distribution.” Communications in Statistics – Theory and Methods (2015) 44(10): 1994-2009. With Michael J. Vander Wielen.
“Dynamic Elite Partisanship: Party Loyalty and Agenda Setting in the U.S. House.” British Journal of Political Science (2014) 44(4): 741-772. With René Lindstädt.
Research findings described in the London School of Economic’s American politics and policy blog USAPP, October 7, 2014.
“Measuring Variations in Party Unity Voting: An Assessment of Agenda Effects.” Party Politics (2013) 19(3): 432-457. With Michael H. Crespin and David W. Rohde.
“Why Conference Committees?: A Theory of Conference Use in Structuring Bicameral Agreement.” Journal of Theoretical Politics (2013) 25(1): 3-35.
“The Effects of Need for Cognition and Need for Affect on Partisan Evaluations.” Political Psychology (2013) 34(1): 23-42. With Kevin Arceneaux.
“Adaptive Behavior in the European Parliament: Learning to Balance Competing Demands.” European Union Politics (2012) 13(4): 465-486. With René Lindstädt and Jonathan Slapin.
“The Effects of Party and Agenda Control: Assessing the Ideological Orientation of Legislation Directing Bureaucratic Behavior.” Political Research Quarterly (2012) 65(3): 669-684. With Erin Asher Meagher.
“Majority Party Bias in U.S. Congressional Conference Committees.” Congress & the Presidency (2011) 38(3): 271-300. With Steven S. Smith.
“Balancing Competing Demands: Position-Taking and Election Proximity in the European Parliament.” Legislative Studies Quarterly (2011) 36(1): 37-70. With René Lindstädt and Jonathan Slapin.
Winner of the 2012 Jewell-Loewenberg Award for the best article published in Legislative Studies Quarterly in the previous year.
“Timely Shirking: Time-Dependent Monitoring and Its Effects on Legislative Behavior in the U.S. Senate, 1981-2002.” Public Choice (2011) 148(1-2): 119-148. With René Lindstädt.
“The Influence of Conference Committees on Policy Outcomes.” Legislative Studies Quarterly (2010) 35(4): 487-518.
“Shirking in the Contemporary Congress: A Reappraisal.” Political Analysis (Spring, 2004) 12(2): 176-179. With Jamie L. Carson, Michael H. Crespin, and Jeffery A. Jenkins.
Appendices & Supplemental Materials for Refereed Articles
"From Cradle to Congress: The Effect of Birthplace on Legislative Decision-making." With Colin Emrich and Hillary Style. Conditionally accepted at Political Science Research and Methods. [Appendix]
"An Open Mind or a Big Heart: Possible Routes to Reducing Ingroup Bias." With Kevin Arceneaux. Conditionally accepted at Political Communication. [Appendix]
"Do Voters Prefer Educated Candidates? How Candidate Education Influences Vote Choice in Congressional Elections." Electoral Studies (2023) 82: 102596. With Kevin Arceneaux. [Appendix]
"Party Leaders as Welfare-Maximizing Coalition Builders in the Pursuit of Party-Related Public Goods." Public Choice (2023) 194(1): 75-99. [Appendix]
“Time-Dependent Legislative Behavior and Election Outcomes.” Party Politics (2021) 27(3): 565-580. With Lauren M. Rowlands. [Appendix]
“Strategic Candidate Entry and Congressional Elections in the Era of Fox News.” American Journal of Political Science (2020) 64(2): 398-415. With Kevin Arceneaux, Johanna Dunaway, and Martin Johnson. [Appendix]
“Unpacking the Unknown: A Method for Identifying Status Quo Distributions.” Public Choice (2020) 182(1-2): 497-72. With Michael J. Vander Wielen. [Appendix]
“Diffusion in Congress: Measuring the Social Dynamics of Legislative Behavior.” Political Science Research and Methods (2017) 5(3): 511-527. With René Lindstädt and Matthew Green. [Appendix]
“The Influence of News Media on Political Elites: Investigating Strategic Responsiveness in Congress.” American Journal of Political Science (2016) 60(1): 5-29. With Kevin Arceneaux, Martin Johnson, and René Lindstädt. [Appendix]
“The General Segmented Distribution.” Communications in Statistics – Theory and Methods (2015) 44(10): 1994-2009. With Michael J. Vander Wielen. [Mathematica code for generating the probability density function and moments of the General Segmented Distribution]
“Dynamic Elite Partisanship: Party Loyalty and Agenda Setting in the U.S. House.” British Journal of Political Science (2014) 44(4): 741-772. With René Lindstädt. [Appendix]
“Why Conference Committees?: A Theory of Conference Use in Structuring Bicameral Agreement.” Journal of Theoretical Politics (2013) 25(1): 3-35. [Appendix]
“The Effects of Party and Agenda Control: Assessing the Ideological Orientation of Legislation Directing Bureaucratic Behavior.” Political Research Quarterly (2012) 65(3): 669-684. With Erin Asher Meagher. [Appendix]
“The Influence of Conference Committees on Policy Outcomes.” Legislative Studies Quarterly (2010) 35(4): 487-518. [Appendix]
Other Publications
“Intuitive Politics and Why Thinking Isn’t Guaranteed to Save Us.” (2021). In The Politics of Truth in Polarized America: Concepts, Causes and Correctives. David C. Barker and Elizabeth Suhay (Eds.). New York: Oxford University Press. With Kevin Arceneaux.
“Book Review of Exceptions to the Rule: The Politics of Filibuster Limitations in the U.S. Senate by Molly E. Reynolds.” American Review of Politics (2018) 36(2): 124-126.
“Book Review of Congress and the Media: Beyond Institutional Power by C. Danielle Vinson.” Perspectives on Politics (2018) 16(3): 840-842.
“Book Review of Is Bipartisanship Dead? Policy Agreement and Agenda-Setting in the House of Representatives by Laurel Harbridge.” Congress & the Presidency (2016) 43(2): 255-258.
“Book Review of Agenda Setting in the US Senate: Costly Consideration and Majority Party Advantage by Chris Den Hartog and Nathan W. Monroe.” Congress & the Presidency (2013) 40(2): 199-201.
“Book Review of The Floor in Congressional Life by Andrew J. Taylor.” Party Politics (2013) 19(3): 529-531.
“Judging Statutes: Interpretive (or Contextual) Regimes.” Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review (2005) 38(5): 1909-1970. With Nancy Staudt, Lee Epstein, Peter J. Wiedenbeck, and René Lindstädt.
Works in Progress
"The Changing Nature of Congressional Party Support in a Hyper-Partisan Era." With Steven S. Smith. Invited to Revise and Resubmit at Political Research Quarterly.
"Proving Her Strength: The Partisan and Gendered Implications of Legislative Obstruction." With Nicole Huffman and Lauren Palladino. In progress.
"Legislators' Risk Tolerance and the Changing Nature of Party Loyalty in the U.S. Congress." With Samuel Jens. In progress.
“Majority Coalitions and the Logic of Minority Obstruction.” In progress.