Research

Americans are increasingly concerned about the future of democracy. The virality of misinformation in American politics has led people to question the public’s ability to navigate our complex information environment and make rational choices. At the same time, intensifying affective polarization has driven partisans farther apart, perhaps at a time when we need to come together most. My research is uniquely suited to help us understand some of these key challenges in American politics by examining the intersection of information consumption and social interactions about politics. I study the content, process, and consequences of interpersonal political communication.

By critically interrogating the process and content of both online and offline political discussion, my work highlights the ways in which the social realities of these interactions might undermine or enhance previously theorized benefits of discussion for political behavior. I tackle these social realities through three core lines of inquiry. My most recent work builds upon this foundation to tackle questions directly related to misinformation and partisan media effects.

Books

Articles

  • Rossiter, Erin and Taylor N. Carlson. 2024. “Cross-Partisan Conversation Reduced Affective Polarization for Republicans and Democrats Even after the Contentious 2020 Election.” Journal of Politics. [Paper] [Appendix]
  • Anspach, Nicolas and Taylor N. Carlson. 2024. “Not Who You Think? Exposure and Vulnerability to Misinformation” New Media & Society 26(8): 4847-4866. [Paper]
  • Noble, Benjamin S. and Taylor N. Carlson. 2024. “CueAnon: the (not so) Strategic Endorsement of Political Conspiracy Theories.” Political Behavior. [Paper] [Appendix]
  • Carlson, Taylor N. and Jaime E. Settle. 2023. “Freedom of Expression in Political Discussion” PS: Political Science and Politics. [Paper]
  • Carlson, Taylor N. and Seth J. Hill. 2021. “Experimental Measurement of Misperception in Political Beliefs.” Journal of Experimental Political Science. [Paper]
  • Anspach, Nicolas M. and Taylor N. Carlson. 2020. “What to Believe? How Social Media Facilitate Misinformation.” Political Behavior. 42(3): 697-718. [Paper]
  • Carlson, Taylor N., Charles T. McClean, and Jaime E. Settle. 2020. “Follow Your Heart: Could Psychophysiology Be Associated with Political Discussion Network Homogeneity?” Political Psychology 41(1): 165-187. [Paper]
  • Hibbing, Matthew V., Jaime E. Settle, Nicolas M. Anspach, Kevin Arceneaux, Taylor N. Carlson, Chelsea Coe, Edward Hernandez, John Peterson, and John Stuart. “Political Psychophysiology: A Primer for Interested Researchers and Consumers.” Politics and the Life Sciences 39(1): 101-117. [Paper]
  • Abrajano, Marisa, Taylor N. Carlson, Lisa Garcia Bedolla, Stan Oklobdzija, and Shad Turney. 2020. “When campaigns call, who answers? Using observational data to enrich our understanding of phone mobilization.” Electoral Studies 64: 102025. [Paper]
  • Carlson, Taylor N., Marisa Abrajano, and Lisa Garcia Bedolla. 2020. “Political Discussion Networks and Political Engagement Amongst Voters of Color.” Political Research Quarterly 73(1): 79-95. [Paper]
  • Carlson, Taylor N. 2019. “Through the Grapevine: Informational Consequences of Interpersonal Political Communication.” American Political Science Review. 113(2): 325-339. [Paper]
    • Winner of the John Sprague Award (APSA Political Networks Section), 2019
    • Winner of the Best Conference Paper Award (APSA Political Networks Section), 2019
    • Winner of the Timothy Cook Award (APSA Political Communication Section), 2019
  • Carlson, Taylor N. and Jaime E. Settle. 2019. “Opting Out of Political Discussions.” Political Communication 36(3): 476-496. [Paper]
  • Carlson, Taylor N. 2018. “Modeling Political Information Transmission as a Game of Telephone.” Journal of Politics. 80(1): 348-352. [Paper]
  • Carlson, Taylor N. and Jaime E. Settle. 2016. “Political Chameleons: An Exploration of Conformity in Political Discussions.” Political Behavior 38(4): 817-859. [Paper]

Work in Progress

  • How do political conversations affect crime news coverage? (with Nazita Lajevardi and Shayla Olson) Pre-registered, draft available
  • Extremism Spirals and How to Break Them (with Carly Wayne and Erin Rossiter) Pre-registered, draft available
  • Do Individuals’ Policy Priorities and Policy Frames Cluster within Social Networks? (with Amber Boydstun and Matthew Pietryka) Under Review
  • To Discuss or Not to Discuss? How Selective Exposure to Political Discussion Conditions Experimental Findings on Polarization (with Erin Rossiter) Pre-registered, draft available
  • You’re Making us Look Bad: Can Partisan Embarrassment Dampen Partisanship and Polarization? Apparently Not. (with Elizabeth C. Connors and Steven W. Webster) Revise and Resubmit
  • Limited and Concentrated: Multi-Platform Exposure to Partisan Media (with Eunji Kim) Under Review
  • Let’s Talk About It: How Election Outcomes Affect Media Choice (with Jenna Pedersen)