Department of Political Science

Steven Webster's research focuses on the nature of political behavior and public opinion within the United States. More specifically, he studies the forces driving mass polarization; how voters form perceptions of political actors, such as candidates, parties, and related political entities; and how signals from party elites shape voters’ beliefs and attitudes. In order to shed light on these questions he draws on theories from both political science and psychology. Webster's work has been published in Political Science Research & Methods, Political Behavior, Electoral Studies, American Politics Research, Advances in Political Psychology, American Behavioral Scientist, and Social Science Quarterly.

Webster's book, American Rage: How Anger Shapes Our Politics, is forthcoming with Cambridge University Press. The book presents results from a series of experiments that show that anger causes citizens to lose trust in the national government and to weaken in their commitment to democratic norms and values. He then shows that, despite these negative externalities, political elites strategically elicit anger within the electorate because voter anger leads to voter loyalty. For more details on this project, feel free to email him. Alternatively, listen to this NPR interview in which he describes his research and how it relates to contemporary American politics.