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Fellow, Harken Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement, Drake University

Wye Faculty Fellow, Aspen Institute,

Alexander George Award for Best Book in Political Psychology, International Society of Political Psychology

Collegiate Teaching Award, University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Artinian Award for Professional Development. Southern Political Science Association

Editorial Board, Advances in Political Psychology

Editorial Board, Politics and Life Sciences

Editorial Board, Polity

Past-President, International Society of Political Psychology

President, International Society of Political Psychology

Academic Freedom Under Attack in Turkey: 2019 Presidential Address, International Society of Political Psychology

The Effects of Politician’s Moral Violations on Voters' Moral Emotions

Voluntary Exposure to Political Fact Checks

Reprehensible, Laughable: The Role of Contempt in Negative Campaigning

Voters’ Partisan Responses to Politicians’ Immoral Behavior

Bringing the Heat Home: Television Spots about Local Impacts Reduce Global Warming Denialism

The Positive Case for Negative Campaigning

How Voters Decide: Information Processing in Election Campaigns (Cambridge Studies in Public Opinion and Political Psychology)

A Citizen’s Guide to the Political Psychology of Voting (Citizen Guides to Politics and Public Affairs)

Why Iowa?: How Caucuses and Sequential Elections Improve the Presidential Nominating Process

The American Governor: Power, Constraint, and Leadership in The States

Feeling Politics: Emotion in Political Information Processing

Civic Service: Service-Learning with State and Local Government Partners

David P. Redlawsk, PhD (Rutgers University, 1997) is the James R. Soles Professor and Chair of Department of Political Science and International Relations and Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Delaware. In addition to the PhD, he holds an M.A. degrees from Rutgers University, an M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University, and a B.A. from Duke University. Dr. Redlawsk is a past President of the International Society of Political Psychology, and currently serves as its Treasurer. He previously served ISPP as a Vice President and as an elected Governing Council member. He was a co-editor of the journal Political Psychology from 2010 through 2015. Dr. Redlawsk is an author or editor of 9 books and has published more than 60 articles and book chapters. His newest books are the Oxford Encyclopedia of Political Decision Making, for which he is Editor-in-Chief, and A Citizen's Guide to the Political Psychology of Voting, with UD Ph.D. Michael Habegger (2020, Routledge). An exert on the US presidential nominating system, he wrote the definitive book on the Iowa Caucuses and its effects on nominations, Why Iowa? How Caucuses and Sequential Elections Improve the Presidential Nominating System, with Caroline Tolbert and Todd Donovan. He is also co-author of The Positive Case for Negative Campaigning with Kyle Mattes, and How Voters Decide, with Richard R. Lau. Dr. Redlawsk's research focuses on campaigns, elections, the role of information in voter decision making, and on emotional responses to campaign information. Dr. Redlawsk has received several grants from the National Science Foundation, and served on the Board of Overseers for the American National Election Studies. Dr. Redlawsk is also experienced in “real-world” politics, often calling himself a “recovering politician.” He lost and won elections for local office in Pennsylvania in the late 1980s and New Jersey in the 1990s and served as Johnson County, IA Democratic Chair during the 2004 Iowa Caucuses. He was also one of Iowa’s elected delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Political Campaigns

Decision Making

Survey Research

Politics

Voter Beavior and Attitudes

Political Psychology

Experimental Methods

Presidential Nomination Campaigns

English

University of Delaware Expert Profile

University of Delaware Faculty Profile

Google Scholar Citations

Personal Website

The Democratic Party agreed to overhaul its primaries, but that arduous process is far from over

Voters hit the polls to decide who will control Congress, statehouses

Iowa’s First-in-the-Nation Status in Jeopardy

It’s time to get serious about voting rights — in Delaware and across the U.S. | Opinion

U.S. election: What is the electoral college and how does it work?

Where Biden and Trump are campaigning shows where they think their opportunities are

The three anxieties of 2020

The world’s most overrated general, Donald Trump’s insults, and why contempt matters in politics

How Voters Multiple Identities Affect their Response to Politicians’ Moral Violations

Voters’ Moral Emotions in Response to Politicians’ Moral Violations

The Impact of Gender on Complex Political Thinking

Testing an Integrative Theory of Beliefs and Emotions Predicting Trump Support

Presidential Address.: Empowering Citizens in Illiberal Times: The Political Psychology of Oppression and Resistance.

the-handshake-seen-round-the-world

Professor and Chair, Political Science Political Science and International Relations

 More than 50 million viewers were expecting a cold standoff to start last night's debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump. University of Delaware experts say Trump was likely more shocked than they were when Harris walked to his podium for a cordial handshake. 

"It was a clearly planned move on Harris' part intending to assert some dominance over someone whose entire schtick is about being dominant. And it was successful, and I think it discomforted Trump," said David Redlawsk, professor of political science and international relations.
 

Erin Cassese, professor of political science and international relations, said the move exuded confidence, especially given that President Biden and former-President Trump did not shake hands at the outset of their July debate. 

"Harris’s pursuit of the handshake showed off the bat that she would engage in this debate on her own terms, Cassese said. "It also had Trump on the back foot, as he seemed not to expect the gesture."

Cassese  said the handshake also offset any advantage Trump might have gained due to the podium setup, which could have highlighted their height differential.

"But the handshake showed that Harris was not intimidated by the difference in stature," Cassese said.

Redlawsk is a political psychologist who studies voter behavior and emotion, focusing on how voters process political information to make their decisions. He has written several books on politics, worked behind the scenes on campaigns and ran for local office.

Cassese explores the behavior of women as voters and candidates for political office in the United States. Her areas of expertise are gender, abortion, public opinion, campaigns and elections.

To set up an interview either either expert, reporters can visit their ExpertFile pages and clicking on the "contact" button.



The Handshake Seen 'Round The World

election-2024-providing-insight-during-a-pivotal-campaign-season

Associate Professor, American Politics, Political Psychology and Race and Ethnic Politics; Director of Internships

Professor, Communication

Professor, Sociology and Criminal Justice; Africana Studies

Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Chair of Civil Discourse

 Voter behavior and emotion, civil discourse, the spread of misinformation, the role of gender and race in politics and conspiracy theories are among the many topics University of Delaware experts can comment on during this final stretch of the 2024 campaign.

 David Redlawsk Professor of Political Science  and International Relations Expertise: Political psychologist who studies voter behavior and emotion, focuses on how voters process political information to make their decisions. He has written several books on politics, worked behind the scenes on campaigns and ran for local office.    Dannagal Young  Professor of Communication Director of the Center for Political Communication  Expertise: The spread of misinformation in politics and the intersection of entertainment and information, with an emphasis on political satire, political media effects, public opinion and the psychology of political humor.   Kassra Oskooii  Professor of Political Science and International Relations  Expertise: Focuses on the interplay between the contextual and psychological determinants of political opinions and behaviors of high and low status group members.    Erin Cassese  Professor of Political Science and International Relations  Expertise: Explores the behavior of women as voters and candidates for political office, and studies political psychology, gender stereotypes, public opinion, elections and the intersection of religion and politics.   Yasser Payne  Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies  Expertise: Research program also focuses on Black racial identity; street identity;  economic and educational opportunity or the impact of structural violence.    Tim Shaffer    SNF Ithaca Director Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Chair of Civil Discourse  Expertise: Civil discourse in politics; can talk about partisanship, polarization and their impact on media outlets. advancement of democratic practices by focusing on the role of civic professionals in institutional settings.   Alice Ba  Professor and acting chair, Political Science and International Relations. Expertise: Her work on the international relations of East and Southeast Asia examines the structures, processes, and systemic effects of regionalism and cooperative regime building, as well as relations between smaller and major powers.   Joanne Miller  Professor of American Politics, Research Methods and Political Psychology  Expertise: Studies political psychology, with an emphasis on political propaganda, misinformation and conspiracy theories.   Muqtedar Khan  Professor of Comparative Politics, International Relations and Political Theory  Expertise: Issues surrounding U.S. foreign policy in the Muslim World as well as national security and counter-terrorism.  To speak with any of these experts, simply visit their profle and click on the "contact" button, which will send a message directly to them (while also copying UD's media relations team). 

Election 2024: Providing insight during a pivotal campaign season

how-the-trump-verdict-will-impact-the-election

 When members of the jury handed down their guilty verdict in NY v. Donald J. Trump, they had simply completed their nearly three-month stint of civic duty. At the same time, they had set in motion a seismic shift in the 2024 election. What's not clear is which way that shift will go, said David Redlawsk, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Delaware.

Redlawsk is a political psychologist with expertise in campaigns, voter behavior, decision making and emotion. His research focuses on how voters process political information to make their decisions.

In addition to publishing volumes of research and writing several books on politics, Redlawsk also has years of experience on the frontlines. He's worked behind the scenes on campaigns and ran for local office – winning and losing as a member of both major parties.

To arrange an interview with Redlawsk, visit his profile and click on the contact button. These messages will go directly to Redlawsk and a member of the UD media relations team. 

How the Trump verdict will impact the election

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