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 in the Department of Political Science at Louisiana State University.

My research focuses on the psychological roots of public opinion - namely, how anxiety shapes support for social welfare programs by moderating political responses to both economic and non-economic threats. My work also spans topics in public opinion and political psychology such as the nature of political sophistication and the influence of ethnic diveristy on authoritarians' support for redistribution. Methodologically, I combine standard approaches like survey experiments with techniques for analyzing panel data like structural equation modeling.

My research has been published or is forthcoming at the British Journal of Political Science (x2), Public Opinion Quarterly and Political Studies.

Peer-Reviewed Articles

1. Americans’ Responses to COVID-19 and the Conditional Role of Dispositional Needs for Security: A Replication and Extension. Conditionally Accepted. Public Opinion Quarterly. (with Trent Ollerenshaw and Joseph A. Vitriol).
   
   
2. Polarized Attitudes and Anti-Democratic Orientation: Robust Evidence for Paradoxical Relationships Among American Partisans. Forthcoming. Political Studies. (with Ariel Malka, Christopher M. Federico, & Thomas H. Costello)
   
   
3. Informed or overwhelmed? Disentangling The Effects of Cognitive Ability and Information on Public Opinion. 2025. British Journal of Political Science.
   
   
4. 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)
   
   
5. The Neurobiology of Political Ideology: Theories, Findings, and Future Directions. 2024. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. (with H. Hannah Nam)
   
   
6. 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

• Authoritarianism, Redistribution, and Ethnic Diversity. Invited to Revise and Resubmit at the American Journal of Political Science. (with Stanley Feldman).
  
  
• Questionnaire Democrats? Reconsidering the Relevance of Abstract Democracy Support in the American Public. Invited to Revise and Resubmit at Political Behavior. (with Ari Malka)
  
  
• Ironic Relationships Between Partisan Polarization and Support for Democratic Norm Violations in the American Public. (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, Stanley Feldman, 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
  
  
• Welfare State Characteristics and Citizens' Reactions to Economic Shocks: The Role of Anxiety
  
  
• Anxiety 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 Program) (2x)
  Stony Brook University S25, F25


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

Teaching Assistant

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