Adam R. Panish

Welcome! I am a PhD Candidate in the Department of Political Science at Stony Brook University. Starting in Fall 2026, I will be an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Louisiana State University.

I study the psychological roots of political behavior and public opinion. In my dissertation, I examined how dispositional anxiety shapes policy preferences, moral values, and ideology. My other substantive work spans topics such as the relationship between political sophistication and cognitive ability and the nature of authoritarians' economic preferences. My methodological work focuses on the specification and interpretation of panel models in survey research, survey design, and item format effects.

My research has been accepted for publication in journals such as the American Journal of Political Science, the British Journal of Political Science, Public Opinion Quarterly and Political Studies.

Peer-Reviewed Articles

1. Authoritarianism, Redistribution, and Ethnic Diversity. Conditionally Accepted. American Journal of Political Science. (with Stanley Feldman).
   
   
2. Americans’ Responses to COVID-19 and the Conditional Role of Dispositional Needs for Security: A Replication and Extension. 2026. Public Opinion Quarterly. (with Trent Ollerenshaw and Joseph A. Vitriol).
   
   
3. Polarized Attitudes and Anti-Democratic Orientation: Robust Evidence for Paradoxical Relationships Among American Partisans. 2025. Political Studies. (with Ariel Malka, Christopher M. Federico, & Thomas H. Costello)
   
   
4. Informed or overwhelmed? Disentangling The Effects of Cognitive Ability and Information on Public Opinion. 2025. British Journal of Political Science.
   
   
5. Why Anxious People Lean to the Left on Economic Policy: Personality, Social Exclusion, and Redistribution. 2025. British Journal of Political Science. (with Andrew W. Delton)
   
   
6. The Neurobiology of Political Ideology: Theories, Findings, and Future Directions. 2024. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. (with H. Hannah Nam)
   
   
7. Big Five Personality and COVID-19 Beliefs, Behaviors, and Vaccine Intentions: The Mediating Role of Political Ideology. 2023. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. (with Steven G. Ludeke and Joseph A. Vitriol)
   
   

Under Review

• Questionnaire Democrats? Reconsidering the Relevance of Abstract Democracy Support in the American Public. Invited to Revise and Resubmit at Political Behavior. (with Ari Malka)
  
  
• Which Americans Support Partisan Democratic Norm Violations? Instrumental versus Ideological Affinity Explanations. Invited to Revise and Resubmit at Political Psychology. (with Ari Malka)
  
  
• Do Agree-Disagree Rating Scales Reduce Self-Report Measurement Quality? Four Preregistered Survey Experiments. (with Ariel Malka, Christopher J. Soto, and Ricardo Primi)

In Progress

• Rethinking the Cross Lagged Regression Model: Limitations and Alternatives in Panel Analysis. (with Chris Weber and Bang Q. Zheng)
  
  
• Who Wants Help? How Anxiety Shapes the Demand for Insurance After Economic Shocks
  • Awarded 2^nd place prize in the NYAAPOR/PANJAAPOR Young Public Opinion Scholars Competition
  
  
• Anxiety, Vulnerability, and the Moral Politics of Harm. (with Andrew W. Delton)

Instructor of Record

• POL 201: Introduction to Statistical Methods in Political Science (3x)
  Stony Brook University W23, W24, F24


• POL 344: American Political Ideology and Public Opinion (3x)
  Stony Brook University F23, S24, W25


• POL 504: Research Design (MA in Political Psychology) (2x)
  Stony Brook University S25, F25


• POL 561: Dynamics of Public Opinion (MA in Political Psychology) (1x)
  Stony Brook University S26

Teaching Assistant

• PSYC-E1587: Fake News and Political Misperceptions (1x)
  Harvard University Extension School S23