Stephanie L Demora
Biographic Data
| ID | 1616833 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Stephanie L Demora |
| GIVEN NAMES | Stephanie L |
| FAMILY NAME | Demora |
| SIGNATURE | DEMORA S L |
| AFFILIATIONS | Stony Brook University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8455-9220 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 28 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 15 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Motivating High School Seniors to Register to Vote with Registrars’ Visits
In Spring 2024, we conducted a randomized controlled trial in Latino-majority communities in Arizona and Texas to test the impact and effects of voter registration campaigns run by local Registrars in high schools. We theorized that bringing election officials into schools dispels informational uncertainty, cultivates positive political attitudes and emotions, and ultimately boosts voter registration rates. Two partner schools were identified in …
The Effects of SMS Mobilization, Message, and Timing on Voter Turnout
SMS messages have become a popular tool of voter mobilization by political campaigns and advocacy groups in the United States, yet empirical evidence of their impact is inconclusive. We engage 7.1 million voters in one of the largest GOTV experiments in the academic literature in order to assess the impact of SMS content and timing on voter file-validated turnout. Our pre-registered study is conducted with a non-partisan partner organization duri…
Adolescent Exposure to Economic Inequality and Belief in the ‘American Dream’ on Entering Adulthood
The growth in economic inequality in the United States over the past forty years has stimulated interest among scholars in the effects of exposure to inequality on the American people. A prominent vein of scholarship explores whether exposure to inequality diminishes belief in a key pillar of the ‘American dream’ – the meritocratic ideal that hard work will translate to economic success. We offer this literature a novel test that explores the rel…
Motivating Future Voters
Republican Pushback on Patriotism-Linked Covid-19 Vaccine Messages
Moral reframing theory suggests that messages that connect with fundamental values may soften resistance, especially when from a trusted source. We assess these expectations in opinion dynamics around US Republicans’ views on COVID-19 vaccines. Data are from a preregistered experiment in a national survey of Republicans (n = 3,058). Respondents were randomly assigned to one of three treatments or a control (no message) condition. Treated individu…
Gendered Political Contexts, Emotions, and Engagement
The 2016 election serves as an important case study in understanding how gendered political contexts can shape emotional reactions and engagement, particularly among women. Two important features of that election, Trump’s treatment of women and Clinton’s historic run for office, influenced emotional reactions to politics in distinct ways. We used two experimental designs in which participants were randomly assigned to read vignettes about Trump’s…
Motivating student voter registration
College student voter turnout reflects the degree to which students are being taught to support and protect democracy, long a core mission of the U.S. higher education system. Yet, college student voter turnout is generally very low. In 2020–2021, campuses around the country participated in a coordinated program to increase college student voter registration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using survey and focus group data collected in spring 2021,…
Jesus was a Refugee
We consider how frames highlighting religious values shape opinion among individuals who may experience social identity conflict. White evangelical Republicans have ardently supported Donald Trump’s restrictionist stances towards refugees, yet those partisan policy stances exist in tension with evangelical Christian values emphasizing care for vulnerable strangers. Our pre-registered national experiment tests whether a religious message can move …
Social media use and vaccination among Democrats and Republicans
The Effect of the Political Environment on White Women’s Political Ambition
The year 2018 has been dubbed the Year of the Woman because of the increased number of women who ran for office. What helps explain the dramatic increase in the number of women running for office? This paper examines how the political environment shapes white women’s emotional reactions to politics and in turn their political ambition. We focus on major aspects of the 2016 election: Trump’s treatment of women, Clinton’s historic run for office, t…
Ready for a Woman President
Even though a record number of women ran for the Democratic nomination in 2020, Clinton’s loss in 2016 led pundits, party elites, and voters to worry about whether the country would be willing to support a woman for president, and polling organizations regularly asked questions that tapped into such concerns. While the vast majority expressed willingness to vote for a woman for president in polls, people were more skeptical about how their neighb…
Making activists out of environmentalists
Among the many goals of advocacy organizations is motivating supporters to engage in actions that help move forward the policy goals of the group. This might include signing a petition, sending an email to an elected official, or attending a local government meeting. These actions are important for the maintenance of democracy, but also very rare; most people are not activists. How best to encourage supporters to engage in that necessary advocacy…
Getting out the Black Vote in Washington DC
Scholars and practitioners have long understood the importance of mobilization for increasing voter turnout, particularly the power of personal contact to increase voter participation in low-propensity communities of color. Compared to research focused on other communities, however, less is known about how Black voters respond to encouragements to vote. This lacuna in the literature can be attributed both to the political capture of Black voters …
Female Empowerment and the Politics of Language
This letter explores language politics as it concerns gender, and investigates the adoption of amendments that introduce gender-neutral language to subnational constitutions via popular initiative. Embracing theories of female empowerment based on resource acquisition and shrinking gender differentials in economic resources, the authors argue that popular support for these initiatives will be higher in contexts where female and male incomes are c…
The role of super interest groups in public policy diffusion
In recent years scholarship has drawn attention to the role of large multi-issue interest groups in policy networks and in public policy diffusion. This paper develops this field of study by demonstrating empirically the leverage of the ‘sustained organisational influence’ theory of policy diffusion. Specifically, it focuses on the role of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in diffusing the Stand Your Ground policy across US state l…
The role of super interest groups in public policy diffusion
In recent years scholarship has drawn attention to the role of large multi-issue interest groups in policy networks and in public policy diffusion. This paper develops this field of study by demonstrating empirically the leverage of the ‘sustained organisational influence’ theory of policy diffusion. Specifically, it focuses on the role of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in diffusing the Stand Your Ground policy across US state l…
Getting out the Black Vote in Washington DC
Scholars and practitioners have long understood the importance of mobilization for increasing voter turnout, particularly the power of personal contact to increase voter participation in low-propensity communities of color. Compared to research focused on other communities, however, less is known about how Black voters respond to encouragements to vote. This lacuna in the literature can be attributed both to the political capture of Black voters …
Female Empowerment and the Politics of Language
This letter explores language politics as it concerns gender, and investigates the adoption of amendments that introduce gender-neutral language to subnational constitutions via popular initiative. Embracing theories of female empowerment based on resource acquisition and shrinking gender differentials in economic resources, the authors argue that popular support for these initiatives will be higher in contexts where female and male incomes are c…
Jesus was a Refugee
We consider how frames highlighting religious values shape opinion among individuals who may experience social identity conflict. White evangelical Republicans have ardently supported Donald Trump’s restrictionist stances towards refugees, yet those partisan policy stances exist in tension with evangelical Christian values emphasizing care for vulnerable strangers. Our pre-registered national experiment tests whether a religious message can move …
Ready for a Woman President
Even though a record number of women ran for the Democratic nomination in 2020, Clinton’s loss in 2016 led pundits, party elites, and voters to worry about whether the country would be willing to support a woman for president, and polling organizations regularly asked questions that tapped into such concerns. While the vast majority expressed willingness to vote for a woman for president in polls, people were more skeptical about how their neighb…
The Effect of the Political Environment on White Women’s Political Ambition
The year 2018 has been dubbed the Year of the Woman because of the increased number of women who ran for office. What helps explain the dramatic increase in the number of women running for office? This paper examines how the political environment shapes white women’s emotional reactions to politics and in turn their political ambition. We focus on major aspects of the 2016 election: Trump’s treatment of women, Clinton’s historic run for office, t…
Social media use and vaccination among Democrats and Republicans
The role of super interest groups in public policy diffusion
In recent years scholarship has drawn attention to the role of large multi-issue interest groups in policy networks and in public policy diffusion. This paper develops this field of study by demonstrating empirically the leverage of the ‘sustained organisational influence’ theory of policy diffusion. Specifically, it focuses on the role of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in diffusing the Stand Your Ground policy across US state l…
Getting out the Black Vote in Washington DC
Scholars and practitioners have long understood the importance of mobilization for increasing voter turnout, particularly the power of personal contact to increase voter participation in low-propensity communities of color. Compared to research focused on other communities, however, less is known about how Black voters respond to encouragements to vote. This lacuna in the literature can be attributed both to the political capture of Black voters …
Female Empowerment and the Politics of Language
This letter explores language politics as it concerns gender, and investigates the adoption of amendments that introduce gender-neutral language to subnational constitutions via popular initiative. Embracing theories of female empowerment based on resource acquisition and shrinking gender differentials in economic resources, the authors argue that popular support for these initiatives will be higher in contexts where female and male incomes are c…
Ready for a Woman President
Even though a record number of women ran for the Democratic nomination in 2020, Clinton’s loss in 2016 led pundits, party elites, and voters to worry about whether the country would be willing to support a woman for president, and polling organizations regularly asked questions that tapped into such concerns. While the vast majority expressed willingness to vote for a woman for president in polls, people were more skeptical about how their neighb…
Making activists out of environmentalists
Among the many goals of advocacy organizations is motivating supporters to engage in actions that help move forward the policy goals of the group. This might include signing a petition, sending an email to an elected official, or attending a local government meeting. These actions are important for the maintenance of democracy, but also very rare; most people are not activists. How best to encourage supporters to engage in that necessary advocacy…
The Effect of the Political Environment on White Women’s Political Ambition
The year 2018 has been dubbed the Year of the Woman because of the increased number of women who ran for office. What helps explain the dramatic increase in the number of women running for office? This paper examines how the political environment shapes white women’s emotional reactions to politics and in turn their political ambition. We focus on major aspects of the 2016 election: Trump’s treatment of women, Clinton’s historic run for office, t…
Motivating student voter registration
College student voter turnout reflects the degree to which students are being taught to support and protect democracy, long a core mission of the U.S. higher education system. Yet, college student voter turnout is generally very low. In 2020–2021, campuses around the country participated in a coordinated program to increase college student voter registration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using survey and focus group data collected in spring 2021,…
Jesus was a Refugee
We consider how frames highlighting religious values shape opinion among individuals who may experience social identity conflict. White evangelical Republicans have ardently supported Donald Trump’s restrictionist stances towards refugees, yet those partisan policy stances exist in tension with evangelical Christian values emphasizing care for vulnerable strangers. Our pre-registered national experiment tests whether a religious message can move …
Social media use and vaccination among Democrats and Republicans
Motivating Future Voters
Republican Pushback on Patriotism-Linked Covid-19 Vaccine Messages
Moral reframing theory suggests that messages that connect with fundamental values may soften resistance, especially when from a trusted source. We assess these expectations in opinion dynamics around US Republicans’ views on COVID-19 vaccines. Data are from a preregistered experiment in a national survey of Republicans (n = 3,058). Respondents were randomly assigned to one of three treatments or a control (no message) condition. Treated individu…
Gendered Political Contexts, Emotions, and Engagement
The 2016 election serves as an important case study in understanding how gendered political contexts can shape emotional reactions and engagement, particularly among women. Two important features of that election, Trump’s treatment of women and Clinton’s historic run for office, influenced emotional reactions to politics in distinct ways. We used two experimental designs in which participants were randomly assigned to read vignettes about Trump’s…
Motivating High School Seniors to Register to Vote with Registrars’ Visits
In Spring 2024, we conducted a randomized controlled trial in Latino-majority communities in Arizona and Texas to test the impact and effects of voter registration campaigns run by local Registrars in high schools. We theorized that bringing election officials into schools dispels informational uncertainty, cultivates positive political attitudes and emotions, and ultimately boosts voter registration rates. Two partner schools were identified in …
The Effects of SMS Mobilization, Message, and Timing on Voter Turnout
SMS messages have become a popular tool of voter mobilization by political campaigns and advocacy groups in the United States, yet empirical evidence of their impact is inconclusive. We engage 7.1 million voters in one of the largest GOTV experiments in the academic literature in order to assess the impact of SMS content and timing on voter file-validated turnout. Our pre-registered study is conducted with a non-partisan partner organization duri…
Adolescent Exposure to Economic Inequality and Belief in the ‘American Dream’ on Entering Adulthood
The growth in economic inequality in the United States over the past forty years has stimulated interest among scholars in the effects of exposure to inequality on the American people. A prominent vein of scholarship explores whether exposure to inequality diminishes belief in a key pillar of the ‘American dream’ – the meritocratic ideal that hard work will translate to economic success. We offer this literature a novel test that explores the rel…
Politics (12 works) · Political science (10 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (8 works) · Law (8 works) · Law (8 works) · Voting (7 works) · Democracy (6 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works) · Social Media and Politics (5 works)