Cheryl Boudreau
Biographic Data
| ID | 4122990 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Cheryl Boudreau |
| GIVEN NAMES | Cheryl |
| FAMILY NAME | Boudreau |
| SIGNATURE | BOUDREAU C |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of California, Davis |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4021-1609 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 26 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 392 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 26 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 9 |
For Whom Does the Message Matter? The Effect of Identity-Based Get-Out-the-Vote Appeals on the Political Participation of Underrepresented Groups
Can messages targeted to underrepresented groups increase their participation in politics? We predict that mobilization messages highlighting a politically relevant group identity will increase participation among racial/ethnic minorities. However, responsiveness to such appeals should vary depending on the strength of one’s identity with that group. We test these predictions by conducting a two-wave panel survey that randomly assigns get-out-the…
Start Spreading the Views: Improving Political Expression and Representation in Local Elections Using Ranked Choice Voting
Hundreds of US cities have switched from single choice to ranked choice voting (RCV) systems. In allowing voters to rank multiple candidates and eliminating fears of wasting votes on less viable candidates, RCV purports to improve both political expression and representation. Realizing this potential, however, depends on voters’ willingness and ability to use their rankings. We assess these outcomes by conducting a survey with an embedded experim…
How Research–Practice Partnerships Can Strengthen Experiments Designed to Build Trust in American Elections
To address the challenge of declining trust in American democracy in the wake of the 2020 presidential contest, election officials across the nation have undertaken innovative public information campaigns. Academic studies demonstrate that exposure to these messages can increase public confidence but do not show which types of messages are most effective. We report a set of three experimental studies that harness research–practice partnerships wi…
Capital Influence: Endorsements and Donations to Political and Charitable Organizations
Ballot Box Representation: Spatial Voting and the Effects of Information in Direct Democracy Elections
In states and localities with direct democracy, citizens can advance their policy interests without the aid of elected officials. Research documenting citizens’ lack of political knowledge raises questions about their ability to do so. We conduct three studies during real-world direct democracy elections to determine whether citizens choose alternatives (the ballot proposal or status quo) that are closest to their ideological positions and whethe…
The Civic Option? Using Experiments to Estimate the Effects of Consuming Information in Local Elections
Political parties and civic organizations disseminate information to improve citizen decision making in local elections. Do citizens choose to consume such information and, if so, how does it affect their decisions? We conduct a survey experiment during a real-world local election that randomly assigns 1) political party endorsements, 2) a voter guide, 3) no information, or 4) a choice among these options. Respondents assigned to receive party en…
Police Violence and Public Opinion After George Floyd: How the Black Lives Matter Movement and Endorsements Affect Support for Reforms
What factors shape public opinion about government solutions to address police violence? We address this question by conducting a survey in which respondents express their opinions about actual proposals to reform police practices. Within the survey, we randomly assign respondents to receive the positions of traditional advocates (Black lawmakers) and/or opponents (law enforcement) of police reform efforts. Our results reveal broad bipartisan sup…
Trends: Following the Money? How Donor Information Affects Public Opinion about Initiatives
Citizens are typically uninformed about politics and know little about issues at stake in direct democracy elections. Government efforts to inform electorates include requiring donors to initiative campaigns to report their activities and then circulating such donor information to citizens. What effects does donor information have on citizens’ opinions? We conduct a survey experiment where respondents express opinions about initiatives in a real-…
Trust, Communication, and Information after The Democratic Dilemma
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Police Violence and Public Perceptions: An Experimental Study of How Information and Endorsements Affect Support for Law Enforcement
Incidents of police violence can undermine trust in legal authorities. Whether such incidents have this effect will depend on how citizens evaluate victims, the police, and public officials. Citizens' evaluations may be shaped by information about (1) a pattern of police violence and (2) government responses. We study citizens' reactions to police violence by randomly assigning these two types of information in the context of the Stephon Clark sh…
Roadmaps to Representation: An Experimental Study of How Voter Education Tools Affect Citizen Decision Making
Racial or Spatial Voting? The Effects of Candidate Ethnicity and Ethnic Group Endorsements in Local Elections
With the growth of Latino and Asian American populations, candidates frequently must appeal to diverse electorates. Strategies for doing so include emphasizing candidates’ racial/ethnic identity and securing endorsements from racial/ethnic groups. While many scholars focus on candidates’ racial/ethnic attributes, ethnic group endorsements are understudied. Whether such endorsements induce voters to choose ideologically similar candidates (spatial…
The Value of Preregistration for Open and Credible Science: An Initiative from the Journal of Experimental Political Science
In the interest of promoting open and reproducible science, the Journal of Experimental Political Science editorial team will pilot the pre-acceptance of preregistered reports. We note that the launch of this new submission option is a complement to, and does not replace, the option to submit other types of manuscripts. JEPS remains open to receiving and reviewing high quality manuscripts regardless of whether they are based on preregistered stud…
Wanting What Is Fair: How Party Cues and Information about Income Inequality Affect Public Support for Taxes
Income inequality has risen dramatically in the United States, with potentially negative social, economic, and political consequences. Governments can use redistributive taxes to combat inequality, but doing so requires public support. When will voters support redistributive taxes? Using the dual-process framework, we make predictions about the conditions under which party cues and information about rising inequality affect support for redistribu…
Reporting Balance Tables, Response Rates and Manipulation Checks in Experimental Research: A Reply from the Committee that Prepared the Reporting Guidelines
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Read but Not Heard? Engaging Junior Scholars in Efforts to Make Political Science Relevant
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
People
Lost in Space? Information Shortcuts, Spatial Voting, and Local Government Representation
Voters face difficult choices in local elections, where information about candidates is scarce and party labels often do not distinguish candidates’ ideological positions. Can voters choose candidates who represent them ideologically in these contexts? To address this question, we conduct original surveys that ask candidates in the 2011 mayoral election in San Francisco to take positions on local policy issues. We ask voters their positions on th…
Reporting Guidelines for Experimental Research: A Report from the Experimental Research Section Standards Committee
The Standards Committee of the Experimental Research Section of the American Political Science Association has produced reporting guidelines that aim to increase the clarity of experimental research reports. This paper describes the Committee's rationale for the guidelines it developed and includes our Recommended Reporting Standards for Experiments (Laboratory, Field, Survey). It begins with a content analysis of current reporting practices in p…
Informing the Electorate? How Party Cues and Policy Information Affect Public Opinion about Initiatives
Citizens in representative democracies receive party endorsements and policy information when choosing candidates or making policy decisions via the initiative process. What effects do these sources of information have on public opinion? We address this important question by conducting survey experiments where citizens express opinions about initiatives in a real‐world electoral context. We manipulate whether they receive party cues, policy infor…
Gresham's Law of Political Communication: How Citizens Respond to Conflicting Information
Although citizens are often exposed to conflicting communications from political elites, few studies examine the effects of conflicting information on the quality of citizens' decisions. Thus, I conduct experiments in which subjects are exposed to conflicting information before making decisions that affect their future welfare. The results suggest that a version of Gresham's Law operates in the context of political communication. When a credible …
Greater than the sum of their parts? When combinations of institutions improve citizens’ decisions
Many scholars show that institutions help citizens with their political decisions. However, real-world contexts contain multiple institutions that are imposed together. Thus, I develop a theory and experimental test of the conditions under which combinations of two institutions induce citizens to trust a speaker’s statements and make better decisions than when only one institution is present. The theoretical model demonstrates that a second insti…
The Blind Leading the Blind: Who Gets Polling Information and Does it Improve Decisions
We analyze whether and when polls help citizens to improve their decisions. Specifically, we use experiments to investigate (1) whether and when citizens are willing to obtain polls and (2) whether and when polls help citizens to make better choices than they would have made on their own. We find that citizens are more likely to obtain polls when the decisions they must make are difficult and when they are unsophisticated. Ironically, when the de…
Closing the Gap: When Do Cues Eliminate Differences between Sophisticated and Unsophisticated Citizens
Relatively few scholars assess the conditions under which cues improve citizens’ decisions. I analyze experimentally the conditions under which one cue (the statements of an endorser) enables both sophisticated and unsophisticated citizens to improve their decisions. My results demonstrate that the effectiveness of this cue depends upon the endorser’s incentives and citizens’ levels of sophistication. Specifically, I find that under idealized con…
Making Citizens Smart: When do Institutions Improve Unsophisticated Citizens’ Decisions
Informing the Electorate? How Party Cues and Policy Information Affect Public Opinion about Initiatives
Citizens in representative democracies receive party endorsements and policy information when choosing candidates or making policy decisions via the initiative process. What effects do these sources of information have on public opinion? We address this important question by conducting survey experiments where citizens express opinions about initiatives in a real‐world electoral context. We manipulate whether they receive party cues, policy infor…
Wanting What Is Fair: How Party Cues and Information about Income Inequality Affect Public Support for Taxes
Income inequality has risen dramatically in the United States, with potentially negative social, economic, and political consequences. Governments can use redistributive taxes to combat inequality, but doing so requires public support. When will voters support redistributive taxes? Using the dual-process framework, we make predictions about the conditions under which party cues and information about rising inequality affect support for redistribu…
Closing the Gap: When Do Cues Eliminate Differences between Sophisticated and Unsophisticated Citizens
Relatively few scholars assess the conditions under which cues improve citizens’ decisions. I analyze experimentally the conditions under which one cue (the statements of an endorser) enables both sophisticated and unsophisticated citizens to improve their decisions. My results demonstrate that the effectiveness of this cue depends upon the endorser’s incentives and citizens’ levels of sophistication. Specifically, I find that under idealized con…
Lost in Space? Information Shortcuts, Spatial Voting, and Local Government Representation
Voters face difficult choices in local elections, where information about candidates is scarce and party labels often do not distinguish candidates’ ideological positions. Can voters choose candidates who represent them ideologically in these contexts? To address this question, we conduct original surveys that ask candidates in the 2011 mayoral election in San Francisco to take positions on local policy issues. We ask voters their positions on th…
Police Violence and Public Opinion After George Floyd: How the Black Lives Matter Movement and Endorsements Affect Support for Reforms
What factors shape public opinion about government solutions to address police violence? We address this question by conducting a survey in which respondents express their opinions about actual proposals to reform police practices. Within the survey, we randomly assign respondents to receive the positions of traditional advocates (Black lawmakers) and/or opponents (law enforcement) of police reform efforts. Our results reveal broad bipartisan sup…
Racial or Spatial Voting? The Effects of Candidate Ethnicity and Ethnic Group Endorsements in Local Elections
With the growth of Latino and Asian American populations, candidates frequently must appeal to diverse electorates. Strategies for doing so include emphasizing candidates’ racial/ethnic identity and securing endorsements from racial/ethnic groups. While many scholars focus on candidates’ racial/ethnic attributes, ethnic group endorsements are understudied. Whether such endorsements induce voters to choose ideologically similar candidates (spatial…
Police Violence and Public Perceptions: An Experimental Study of How Information and Endorsements Affect Support for Law Enforcement
Incidents of police violence can undermine trust in legal authorities. Whether such incidents have this effect will depend on how citizens evaluate victims, the police, and public officials. Citizens' evaluations may be shaped by information about (1) a pattern of police violence and (2) government responses. We study citizens' reactions to police violence by randomly assigning these two types of information in the context of the Stephon Clark sh…
The Blind Leading the Blind: Who Gets Polling Information and Does it Improve Decisions
We analyze whether and when polls help citizens to improve their decisions. Specifically, we use experiments to investigate (1) whether and when citizens are willing to obtain polls and (2) whether and when polls help citizens to make better choices than they would have made on their own. We find that citizens are more likely to obtain polls when the decisions they must make are difficult and when they are unsophisticated. Ironically, when the de…
Reporting Guidelines for Experimental Research: A Report from the Experimental Research Section Standards Committee
The Standards Committee of the Experimental Research Section of the American Political Science Association has produced reporting guidelines that aim to increase the clarity of experimental research reports. This paper describes the Committee's rationale for the guidelines it developed and includes our Recommended Reporting Standards for Experiments (Laboratory, Field, Survey). It begins with a content analysis of current reporting practices in p…
Making Citizens Smart: When do Institutions Improve Unsophisticated Citizens’ Decisions
Gresham's Law of Political Communication: How Citizens Respond to Conflicting Information
Although citizens are often exposed to conflicting communications from political elites, few studies examine the effects of conflicting information on the quality of citizens' decisions. Thus, I conduct experiments in which subjects are exposed to conflicting information before making decisions that affect their future welfare. The results suggest that a version of Gresham's Law operates in the context of political communication. When a credible …
Roadmaps to Representation: An Experimental Study of How Voter Education Tools Affect Citizen Decision Making
Trends: Following the Money? How Donor Information Affects Public Opinion about Initiatives
Citizens are typically uninformed about politics and know little about issues at stake in direct democracy elections. Government efforts to inform electorates include requiring donors to initiative campaigns to report their activities and then circulating such donor information to citizens. What effects does donor information have on citizens’ opinions? We conduct a survey experiment where respondents express opinions about initiatives in a real-…
Jurors are competent cue-takers: How institutions substitute for legal sophistication
What conditions are necessary for juries to work effectively? Legal scholars and social scientists have debated this question, and research in psychology and law demonstrates that jurors are easily confused by scientific evidence and readily swayed by the slick framing of argument. Rather than condemn juries as unworkable, however, I demonstrate experimentally that jurors need not possess legal or scientific sophistication to make reasoned choice…
The Value of Preregistration for Open and Credible Science: An Initiative from the Journal of Experimental Political Science
In the interest of promoting open and reproducible science, the Journal of Experimental Political Science editorial team will pilot the pre-acceptance of preregistered reports. We note that the launch of this new submission option is a complement to, and does not replace, the option to submit other types of manuscripts. JEPS remains open to receiving and reviewing high quality manuscripts regardless of whether they are based on preregistered stud…
Reporting Balance Tables, Response Rates and Manipulation Checks in Experimental Research: A Reply from the Committee that Prepared the Reporting Guidelines
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Jurors are competent cue-takers: How institutions substitute for legal sophistication
What conditions are necessary for juries to work effectively? Legal scholars and social scientists have debated this question, and research in psychology and law demonstrates that jurors are easily confused by scientific evidence and readily swayed by the slick framing of argument. Rather than condemn juries as unworkable, however, I demonstrate experimentally that jurors need not possess legal or scientific sophistication to make reasoned choice…
Closing the Gap: When Do Cues Eliminate Differences between Sophisticated and Unsophisticated Citizens
Relatively few scholars assess the conditions under which cues improve citizens’ decisions. I analyze experimentally the conditions under which one cue (the statements of an endorser) enables both sophisticated and unsophisticated citizens to improve their decisions. My results demonstrate that the effectiveness of this cue depends upon the endorser’s incentives and citizens’ levels of sophistication. Specifically, I find that under idealized con…
Making Citizens Smart: When do Institutions Improve Unsophisticated Citizens’ Decisions
The Blind Leading the Blind: Who Gets Polling Information and Does it Improve Decisions
We analyze whether and when polls help citizens to improve their decisions. Specifically, we use experiments to investigate (1) whether and when citizens are willing to obtain polls and (2) whether and when polls help citizens to make better choices than they would have made on their own. We find that citizens are more likely to obtain polls when the decisions they must make are difficult and when they are unsophisticated. Ironically, when the de…
Greater than the sum of their parts? When combinations of institutions improve citizens’ decisions
Many scholars show that institutions help citizens with their political decisions. However, real-world contexts contain multiple institutions that are imposed together. Thus, I develop a theory and experimental test of the conditions under which combinations of two institutions induce citizens to trust a speaker’s statements and make better decisions than when only one institution is present. The theoretical model demonstrates that a second insti…
Gresham's Law of Political Communication: How Citizens Respond to Conflicting Information
Although citizens are often exposed to conflicting communications from political elites, few studies examine the effects of conflicting information on the quality of citizens' decisions. Thus, I conduct experiments in which subjects are exposed to conflicting information before making decisions that affect their future welfare. The results suggest that a version of Gresham's Law operates in the context of political communication. When a credible …
Reporting Guidelines for Experimental Research: A Report from the Experimental Research Section Standards Committee
The Standards Committee of the Experimental Research Section of the American Political Science Association has produced reporting guidelines that aim to increase the clarity of experimental research reports. This paper describes the Committee's rationale for the guidelines it developed and includes our Recommended Reporting Standards for Experiments (Laboratory, Field, Survey). It begins with a content analysis of current reporting practices in p…
Informing the Electorate? How Party Cues and Policy Information Affect Public Opinion about Initiatives
Citizens in representative democracies receive party endorsements and policy information when choosing candidates or making policy decisions via the initiative process. What effects do these sources of information have on public opinion? We address this important question by conducting survey experiments where citizens express opinions about initiatives in a real‐world electoral context. We manipulate whether they receive party cues, policy infor…
Reporting Balance Tables, Response Rates and Manipulation Checks in Experimental Research: A Reply from the Committee that Prepared the Reporting Guidelines
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Read but Not Heard? Engaging Junior Scholars in Efforts to Make Political Science Relevant
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
People
Lost in Space? Information Shortcuts, Spatial Voting, and Local Government Representation
Voters face difficult choices in local elections, where information about candidates is scarce and party labels often do not distinguish candidates’ ideological positions. Can voters choose candidates who represent them ideologically in these contexts? To address this question, we conduct original surveys that ask candidates in the 2011 mayoral election in San Francisco to take positions on local policy issues. We ask voters their positions on th…
The Value of Preregistration for Open and Credible Science: An Initiative from the Journal of Experimental Political Science
In the interest of promoting open and reproducible science, the Journal of Experimental Political Science editorial team will pilot the pre-acceptance of preregistered reports. We note that the launch of this new submission option is a complement to, and does not replace, the option to submit other types of manuscripts. JEPS remains open to receiving and reviewing high quality manuscripts regardless of whether they are based on preregistered stud…
Wanting What Is Fair: How Party Cues and Information about Income Inequality Affect Public Support for Taxes
Income inequality has risen dramatically in the United States, with potentially negative social, economic, and political consequences. Governments can use redistributive taxes to combat inequality, but doing so requires public support. When will voters support redistributive taxes? Using the dual-process framework, we make predictions about the conditions under which party cues and information about rising inequality affect support for redistribu…
Trust, Communication, and Information after The Democratic Dilemma
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Police Violence and Public Perceptions: An Experimental Study of How Information and Endorsements Affect Support for Law Enforcement
Incidents of police violence can undermine trust in legal authorities. Whether such incidents have this effect will depend on how citizens evaluate victims, the police, and public officials. Citizens' evaluations may be shaped by information about (1) a pattern of police violence and (2) government responses. We study citizens' reactions to police violence by randomly assigning these two types of information in the context of the Stephon Clark sh…
Roadmaps to Representation: An Experimental Study of How Voter Education Tools Affect Citizen Decision Making
Racial or Spatial Voting? The Effects of Candidate Ethnicity and Ethnic Group Endorsements in Local Elections
With the growth of Latino and Asian American populations, candidates frequently must appeal to diverse electorates. Strategies for doing so include emphasizing candidates’ racial/ethnic identity and securing endorsements from racial/ethnic groups. While many scholars focus on candidates’ racial/ethnic attributes, ethnic group endorsements are understudied. Whether such endorsements induce voters to choose ideologically similar candidates (spatial…
Trends: Following the Money? How Donor Information Affects Public Opinion about Initiatives
Citizens are typically uninformed about politics and know little about issues at stake in direct democracy elections. Government efforts to inform electorates include requiring donors to initiative campaigns to report their activities and then circulating such donor information to citizens. What effects does donor information have on citizens’ opinions? We conduct a survey experiment where respondents express opinions about initiatives in a real-…
The Civic Option? Using Experiments to Estimate the Effects of Consuming Information in Local Elections
Political parties and civic organizations disseminate information to improve citizen decision making in local elections. Do citizens choose to consume such information and, if so, how does it affect their decisions? We conduct a survey experiment during a real-world local election that randomly assigns 1) political party endorsements, 2) a voter guide, 3) no information, or 4) a choice among these options. Respondents assigned to receive party en…
Police Violence and Public Opinion After George Floyd: How the Black Lives Matter Movement and Endorsements Affect Support for Reforms
What factors shape public opinion about government solutions to address police violence? We address this question by conducting a survey in which respondents express their opinions about actual proposals to reform police practices. Within the survey, we randomly assign respondents to receive the positions of traditional advocates (Black lawmakers) and/or opponents (law enforcement) of police reform efforts. Our results reveal broad bipartisan sup…
Ballot Box Representation: Spatial Voting and the Effects of Information in Direct Democracy Elections
In states and localities with direct democracy, citizens can advance their policy interests without the aid of elected officials. Research documenting citizens’ lack of political knowledge raises questions about their ability to do so. We conduct three studies during real-world direct democracy elections to determine whether citizens choose alternatives (the ballot proposal or status quo) that are closest to their ideological positions and whethe…
For Whom Does the Message Matter? The Effect of Identity-Based Get-Out-the-Vote Appeals on the Political Participation of Underrepresented Groups
Can messages targeted to underrepresented groups increase their participation in politics? We predict that mobilization messages highlighting a politically relevant group identity will increase participation among racial/ethnic minorities. However, responsiveness to such appeals should vary depending on the strength of one’s identity with that group. We test these predictions by conducting a two-wave panel survey that randomly assigns get-out-the…
Start Spreading the Views: Improving Political Expression and Representation in Local Elections Using Ranked Choice Voting
Hundreds of US cities have switched from single choice to ranked choice voting (RCV) systems. In allowing voters to rank multiple candidates and eliminating fears of wasting votes on less viable candidates, RCV purports to improve both political expression and representation. Realizing this potential, however, depends on voters’ willingness and ability to use their rankings. We assess these outcomes by conducting a survey with an embedded experim…
How Research–Practice Partnerships Can Strengthen Experiments Designed to Build Trust in American Elections
To address the challenge of declining trust in American democracy in the wake of the 2020 presidential contest, election officials across the nation have undertaken innovative public information campaigns. Academic studies demonstrate that exposure to these messages can increase public confidence but do not show which types of messages are most effective. We report a set of three experimental studies that harness research–practice partnerships wi…
Political science (20 works) · Politics (19 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (18 works) · Law (17 works) · Law (17 works) · Public relations (13 works) · Psychology (11 works) · Computer Science (9 works) · Affect (linguistics (8 works) · Business (8 works)