Rolfe Peterson
Biographic Data
| ID | 4180377 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rolfe Peterson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Rolfe |
| FAMILY NAME | Peterson |
| SIGNATURE | PETERSON R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Susquehanna University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 85 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 11 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Moving Beyond Binary Measures of Gender in Political Ambition
This research considers the effects of gendered personalities on political ambition. The sex gap in political ambition is a normatively troubling empirical reality. Ambition research is often limited by binary conceptions and measurement of gender and sex. Recent scholarship urges scholars to employ more nuanced measures, including gendered personality as a measure beyond sex. Using original survey research incorporating the Bem Sex Roles Invento…
The Dark is Rising
A growing body of research suggests a significant relationship between dark personality traits and political behavior. While the personality characteristics of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy (labeled the Dark Triad) are associated with a range of political attitudes, research has not tested the Dark Triad in combination with the emerging use of the comparable Light Triad of personality. This paper sets up an exploration of the comp…
Physical Attractiveness, Halo Effects, and Social Joining
Objective: Scholarship in psychology on halo effects demonstrates the powerful effects attractiveness has on social interactions. Here, we consider the influence of physical attractiveness on the development of social capital through social joining. With the unavoidable nature of attractiveness biases, we argue that more physically attractive individuals should be increasingly likely to join social organizations, which have been shown to be impor…
The Narrative Policy Framework and Sticky Beliefs
Our study focuses on Islamophobia and the power of facts versus the power of a narrative in shaping individual opinion toward Muslims. We utilise an experimental design to explore three research questions: (1) Is Islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiment lowered in narrative or factual treatments?; (2) What are the differential effects of the treatments by ideological orientation?; and (3) Is Islamophobia a predictor of policy stances? We find that …
Toxic Mask-ulinity
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered numerous elements of social, political, and economic life. Mask wearing is arguably an essential component of the new normal until substantial progress is made on a vaccine. However, though evidence suggests the practice is a positive for public health and limiting the transmission of COVID-19, there is variation in attitudes toward and practices of mask wearing. Specifically, there appears to be a sex-based divi…
Reframing racism
The Black Lives Matter movement gained national prominence after highly publicized protests turned the spotlight on police violence in the US. We explore how this complex, multi-vocal movement is framed in the media using an original dataset of over 500 editorial cartoons by award-winning syndicated cartoonists. We find that every cartoonist in our sample increased their frequency of cartooning about racism in the BLM period with the greatest inc…
Effects of physical attractiveness on political beliefs
Physical attractiveness is an important social factor in our daily interactions. Scholars in social psychology provide evidence that attractiveness stereotypes and the "halo effect" are prominent in affecting the traits we attribute to others. However, the interest in attractiveness has not directly filtered down to questions of political behavior beyond candidates and elites. Utilizing measures of attractiveness across multiple surveys, we exami…
Priming Assad
Americans’ low level of support for intervening in Syria presents a puzzle, raising questions about how democracies approach conflict. Scholars have noted that the US’s public may need to view opponents in conflict as different from themselves before military force is used. But what is the tipping point between perceiving someone as “one of us” or “one of them?” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s actions fit the model of a villain, but his appear…
Halo Effects and the Attractiveness Premium in Perceptions of Political Expertise
Physical appearance, both our own and that of others, is a common influence on social interactions. In this article, we consider whether appearance also plays a role in how we come to understand politics. As a test, we use American National Election Study survey data, which includes the interviewer’s subjective ratings of respondents’ appearance and perceived political knowledge. We bolster the ANES results with a pair of survey experiments where…
To tweet or not to tweet
The adoption of communication forms like Twitter presents students of congressional behavior an interesting case to examine the intersection of technology and politics. Twitter represents a social media venue that provides an immediate and direct link between the Member of Congress (MC) and constituents, which entails a benefit and a potential risk. In this paper, I examine Twitter use in the 111th Congress in order to better understand congressi…
Principled or Opportunist? Perceptions of Arlen Specter and His Party Switch During the 2010 Midterm Election
While the literature on party switching identifies the reasons that politicians switch parties and the negative electoral consequences of doing so, it does not adequately explore why these consequences exist. To accomplish this task the authors look at citizen responses to party switching. The authors explore perceptions of Arlen Specter and his change in party affiliation during the 2010 midterm election by using original survey data gathered fr…
To tweet or not to tweet
The adoption of communication forms like Twitter presents students of congressional behavior an interesting case to examine the intersection of technology and politics. Twitter represents a social media venue that provides an immediate and direct link between the Member of Congress (MC) and constituents, which entails a benefit and a potential risk. In this paper, I examine Twitter use in the 111th Congress in order to better understand congressi…
Toxic Mask-ulinity
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered numerous elements of social, political, and economic life. Mask wearing is arguably an essential component of the new normal until substantial progress is made on a vaccine. However, though evidence suggests the practice is a positive for public health and limiting the transmission of COVID-19, there is variation in attitudes toward and practices of mask wearing. Specifically, there appears to be a sex-based divi…
Principled or Opportunist? Perceptions of Arlen Specter and His Party Switch During the 2010 Midterm Election
While the literature on party switching identifies the reasons that politicians switch parties and the negative electoral consequences of doing so, it does not adequately explore why these consequences exist. To accomplish this task the authors look at citizen responses to party switching. The authors explore perceptions of Arlen Specter and his change in party affiliation during the 2010 midterm election by using original survey data gathered fr…
Halo Effects and the Attractiveness Premium in Perceptions of Political Expertise
Physical appearance, both our own and that of others, is a common influence on social interactions. In this article, we consider whether appearance also plays a role in how we come to understand politics. As a test, we use American National Election Study survey data, which includes the interviewer’s subjective ratings of respondents’ appearance and perceived political knowledge. We bolster the ANES results with a pair of survey experiments where…
Effects of physical attractiveness on political beliefs
Physical attractiveness is an important social factor in our daily interactions. Scholars in social psychology provide evidence that attractiveness stereotypes and the "halo effect" are prominent in affecting the traits we attribute to others. However, the interest in attractiveness has not directly filtered down to questions of political behavior beyond candidates and elites. Utilizing measures of attractiveness across multiple surveys, we exami…
The Dark is Rising
A growing body of research suggests a significant relationship between dark personality traits and political behavior. While the personality characteristics of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy (labeled the Dark Triad) are associated with a range of political attitudes, research has not tested the Dark Triad in combination with the emerging use of the comparable Light Triad of personality. This paper sets up an exploration of the comp…
Moving Beyond Binary Measures of Gender in Political Ambition
This research considers the effects of gendered personalities on political ambition. The sex gap in political ambition is a normatively troubling empirical reality. Ambition research is often limited by binary conceptions and measurement of gender and sex. Recent scholarship urges scholars to employ more nuanced measures, including gendered personality as a measure beyond sex. Using original survey research incorporating the Bem Sex Roles Invento…
Physical Attractiveness, Halo Effects, and Social Joining
Objective: Scholarship in psychology on halo effects demonstrates the powerful effects attractiveness has on social interactions. Here, we consider the influence of physical attractiveness on the development of social capital through social joining. With the unavoidable nature of attractiveness biases, we argue that more physically attractive individuals should be increasingly likely to join social organizations, which have been shown to be impor…
To tweet or not to tweet
The adoption of communication forms like Twitter presents students of congressional behavior an interesting case to examine the intersection of technology and politics. Twitter represents a social media venue that provides an immediate and direct link between the Member of Congress (MC) and constituents, which entails a benefit and a potential risk. In this paper, I examine Twitter use in the 111th Congress in order to better understand congressi…
Principled or Opportunist? Perceptions of Arlen Specter and His Party Switch During the 2010 Midterm Election
While the literature on party switching identifies the reasons that politicians switch parties and the negative electoral consequences of doing so, it does not adequately explore why these consequences exist. To accomplish this task the authors look at citizen responses to party switching. The authors explore perceptions of Arlen Specter and his change in party affiliation during the 2010 midterm election by using original survey data gathered fr…
Priming Assad
Americans’ low level of support for intervening in Syria presents a puzzle, raising questions about how democracies approach conflict. Scholars have noted that the US’s public may need to view opponents in conflict as different from themselves before military force is used. But what is the tipping point between perceiving someone as “one of us” or “one of them?” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s actions fit the model of a villain, but his appear…
Halo Effects and the Attractiveness Premium in Perceptions of Political Expertise
Physical appearance, both our own and that of others, is a common influence on social interactions. In this article, we consider whether appearance also plays a role in how we come to understand politics. As a test, we use American National Election Study survey data, which includes the interviewer’s subjective ratings of respondents’ appearance and perceived political knowledge. We bolster the ANES results with a pair of survey experiments where…
Effects of physical attractiveness on political beliefs
Physical attractiveness is an important social factor in our daily interactions. Scholars in social psychology provide evidence that attractiveness stereotypes and the "halo effect" are prominent in affecting the traits we attribute to others. However, the interest in attractiveness has not directly filtered down to questions of political behavior beyond candidates and elites. Utilizing measures of attractiveness across multiple surveys, we exami…
Reframing racism
The Black Lives Matter movement gained national prominence after highly publicized protests turned the spotlight on police violence in the US. We explore how this complex, multi-vocal movement is framed in the media using an original dataset of over 500 editorial cartoons by award-winning syndicated cartoonists. We find that every cartoonist in our sample increased their frequency of cartooning about racism in the BLM period with the greatest inc…
The Narrative Policy Framework and Sticky Beliefs
Our study focuses on Islamophobia and the power of facts versus the power of a narrative in shaping individual opinion toward Muslims. We utilise an experimental design to explore three research questions: (1) Is Islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiment lowered in narrative or factual treatments?; (2) What are the differential effects of the treatments by ideological orientation?; and (3) Is Islamophobia a predictor of policy stances? We find that …
Toxic Mask-ulinity
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered numerous elements of social, political, and economic life. Mask wearing is arguably an essential component of the new normal until substantial progress is made on a vaccine. However, though evidence suggests the practice is a positive for public health and limiting the transmission of COVID-19, there is variation in attitudes toward and practices of mask wearing. Specifically, there appears to be a sex-based divi…
The Dark is Rising
A growing body of research suggests a significant relationship between dark personality traits and political behavior. While the personality characteristics of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy (labeled the Dark Triad) are associated with a range of political attitudes, research has not tested the Dark Triad in combination with the emerging use of the comparable Light Triad of personality. This paper sets up an exploration of the comp…
Physical Attractiveness, Halo Effects, and Social Joining
Objective: Scholarship in psychology on halo effects demonstrates the powerful effects attractiveness has on social interactions. Here, we consider the influence of physical attractiveness on the development of social capital through social joining. With the unavoidable nature of attractiveness biases, we argue that more physically attractive individuals should be increasingly likely to join social organizations, which have been shown to be impor…
Moving Beyond Binary Measures of Gender in Political Ambition
This research considers the effects of gendered personalities on political ambition. The sex gap in political ambition is a normatively troubling empirical reality. Ambition research is often limited by binary conceptions and measurement of gender and sex. Recent scholarship urges scholars to employ more nuanced measures, including gendered personality as a measure beyond sex. Using original survey research incorporating the Bem Sex Roles Invento…
Political science (10 works) · Psychology (10 works) · Politics (9 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Law (7 works) · Law (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (5 works) · Attractiveness (3 works)