Program Overview:
Our political psychology program is highly interdisciplinary, both in terms of content areas that encompass political psychology (Barton, Haas, Ekstrom, Smith, Theiss-Morse, Wals), biopolitics (Smith), and political neuroscience (Haas) as well as in the disciplinary backgrounds of our faculty that include both political science (Barton, Smith, Theiss-Morse, Wals) and psychology (Ekstrom, Haas). Graduate coursework provides a broad overview of research in political psychology, with opportunities to take graduate seminars focused in faculty areas of expertise. Students often collaborate with faculty on research and have opportunities to participate in multiple research labs in the department (see links below).
Our faculty are experts in the application of political psychology to domestic and international politics, and have a diverse array of research interests including, for example, emotion and politics (Barton, Haas), morality (Ekstrom, Haas, Smith), political cognition and information processing (Barton, Haas), polarization (Ekstrom, Theiss-Morse), political identity and ideology (Ekstrom, Haas, Smith, Theiss-Morse), and race/ethnicity (Ekstrom, Haas, Wals).
We are also known for interdisciplinary work in biopolitics (Smith) and political neuroscience (Haas). Dr. Kevin Smith runs a psychophysiology lab where students gain experience working with the functioning and measurement of the autonomic nervous system. Dr. Haas has expertise in structural and functional neuroimaging (sMRI / fMRI) and graduate students have opportunities to get involved in this work as well.
Students who choose to study political psychology at UNL can focus on American Politics or International Relations, and often complete elective coursework in the Department of Psychology, and have the option to engage with UNL’s interdisciplinary Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior.
Core Faculty:
Dona-Gene Barton, Associate Professor
Pierce Ekstrom, Assistant Professor
Ingrid Haas, Associate Professor
Kevin Smith, Professor
Elizabeth Theiss-Morse, Professor
Sergio Wals, Associate Professor
Research Labs:
EKSTROM Lab (PI: Pierce Ekstrom)
Political Attitudes and Cognition (PAC) Lab (PI: Ingrid Haas)
Political Physiology Lab (PI: Kevin Smith)