Andrew Civettini

Assistant Professor of Political Science

Contact 309-341-7380 acivetti@knox.edu

General Interests
"I am broadly interested in the psychology of political behavior, both of the masses and elites. My recent work has focused on voting behavior and emotions.

I'm working broadly on three projects right now. The first is the ongoing exploration of emotions and political behavior, which involves multiple experiments and polls in the field this past summer and this fall. I am particularly focusing on hope and anxiety as dispositional emotions that direct our prospective involvement with and attention to politics. My preliminary results suggest that high hope individuals are more likely, across the political spectrum, to engage in many types of political activity and particularly in high cost activities such as donating to a campaign, volunteering for a campaign, and running for office.

The second project is an exploration of the genetic bases of political behavior. This year I attended the International Workshop on Statistical Genetics and Methodology of Twin and Family Studies at the Institute for Behavioral Genetics in Boulder, CO, and a follow-up workshop at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatry and Behavioral Genetics in Richmond, VA. Along with Beth Miller of the University of Kansas-City Missouri, we are examining the genetic and environmental influences on in-group and out-group racial and religious attitudes.

The third project is an attempt to further develop the role that undergraduate research plays in a liberal arts education. Through a FaCE Grant from the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, a committee of faculty from various ACM schools has joined me to put on a workshop designed to diffuse and disseminate models for undergraduate research across ACM campuses. The goal is to share models across disciplines and career stages amongst ACM faculty, enhancing the role that each of us, as well as our colleagues, can play in the undergraduate research process."

Years at Knox: 2007 to present

Education
Ph.D., 2007, University of Iowa.
M.A., 2002, University of Iowa.
B.A., 2001, Grinnell College.

Teaching Interests
Voting behavior, political psychology, and American politics generally.

Full Curriculum Vitae - (DOC)

Selected Professional Accomplishments

Honors/Grants
Mellon Faculty Grant, Knox College, April 2009. Fear and Hope in American Politics: The Role of Prospective Emotional States in Shaping Political Behavior, Attitudes, and Public Opinion.
Faculty Career Enhancement Grant, Associated Colleges of the Midwest, April 2009. Fostering Best Practices in Mentoring Advanced Undergraduate Research: A Collaborative Event.

Publications
"Barack Obama and the Political Science of Hope." In P. I. Güell, C. M. del Rio, & M. E. Jorge, [Eds.], The Obama Effect. University of the Basque Country Press, Forthcoming.

"The Affective Tipping Point: Do Motivated Reasoners Ever Get It?" Redlawsk, David P., Andrew J.W. Civettini, and Karen E. Emmerson. Political Psychology 31 (2010): 563-593.

"Voters, Emotions, and Memory." Civettini, Andrew J.W. and Redlawsk, David P. Political Psychology 30.1 (2009): 125-151.

"Affective Intelligence and Voting: Information Processing and Learning in a Campaign." Co-authored with D.P. Redlawsk, and R. Lau. The Affect Effect:Dynamics of Emotion in Political Thinking and Behavior, Edited by Crigler at al. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.

Review of Ted Brader (2006), Campaigning for Hearts and Minds: How Emotional Appeals in political Ads Work. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Political Psychology 28.6 (2007):804-805.

Presentations
Participant, "International Workshop on Statistical Genetics and Methodology of Twin and Family Studies." Institute for Behavioral Genetics, Boulder, Colorado, 2010.

Chair and Discussant, "The Conditional Effects of Persuasion." International Society of Political Psychology 33rd Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, 2010.

Participant, "New Perspectives from the Lab, the Field, and the Classroom." National Science Foundation Conference on Politics Experiments, University of Virginia, 2010.

Participant, "Genetics Research Training for Political Scientists." Virginia Institute for Psychiatry and Behavioral Genetics, Richmond, Virginia, 2010.

"Election 2010: Why Do Voters Vote the Way They Do?" Congress in the Classroom, Dirksen Congressional Research Center, East Peoria, Illinois, 2010.

"An Agenda for Political Hope." International Society of Political Psychology 33rd Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, 2010.

"Too Negative? An Experimental Evaluation of the Effects of Repeated Exposure to Negative Campaign Advertisements on Candidate Evaluations." Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, 2010.

"Appealing to Emotions: How Anger and Anxiety Help Us Move Forward In the Debate Between Proximity and Directional Theories of Vote Choice." Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Toronto, Ontario, 2009.

"Feeling Our Way Through the Campaign Environment: The Impact of Affect on the Type of Information
We Seek Out in Campaigns." Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, 2009.

"A Survey Experiment Testing the Impact of Competing Frames of Self Identity, Self Interest, and
Communal Identity on Public Opinion Attitudes Toward Intervention in Genocide and the Use of
Coercive Interrogation Techniques." Paper presented by Andrew J. W. Civettini and Brent J. Steele (University of Kansas) at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, 2009.

"The Complex Role of Affect in Structuring What We Remember About Candidates." Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, Massachusetts, 2008.

"The Role of Affect in Structuring Political Information Search." Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, 2008.

Professional Service
Chair and Discussant. The Conditional Effects of Persuasion. International Society of Political Psychology 33rd Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, 2010.

Chair. The Role of Emotions in Politics. Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, 2010.

Best Paper Award Committee. Political Psychology Section of the American Political Science Association, 2009.

Chair and Discussant. Motivated Reasoning. Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Toronto, Ontario, 2009.

Campus & Community Involvement
Chair, Broadcast, Internet, and Publications Committee, 2010-2011.
Protection of Human Subjects Board, Knox College, 2009-present.
Honorary Degrees Subcommittee, Knox College, 2008-present.
Feature Contributor. Expert analysis of election results for KWQC-DT Channel 6 television in Davenport, Iowa. Interviewed by Fran Riley, 2010.
On-Air Election Night Analysis. Panelist alongside Frank Mackaman, Director of the Dirksen Congressional Research Center, and Tanya Koonce, WCBU news anchor. NPR affiliate WCBU, Peoria, Illinois, 2008.
Live Post-Debate Analysis, Durbin-Sauerberg 2008 Senatorial Debate. Interviewed by Will Stevenson, WGIL Radio, Galesburg, Illinois, 2008.