Eric Groenendyk (Ph.D., University of Michigan) joined the department in 2009. His research focuses broadly on public opinion, political behavior, and the role of the citizen in democratic government.

In an ongoing project, he asks what motivates citizens to maintain or change their party identities. Evidence obtained through a series of experiments and surveys suggests that, contrary to conventional wisdom, partisans have little motivation to change their identities in order to align themselves with the party that best represents their interests. Instead, citizens resist changing their party identities and only do so in order to abide by social norms of civic duty and political pragmatism. This work suggests that party identification may not be the efficient political shortcut many assume it to be.

In addition to his work on party identification, he also studies emotion in politics. He and his colleagues are particularly interested in the role that anger plays in political participation. They demonstrate that anger motivates citizens to expend their resources on political participation. Moreover, anger helps to translate one’s sense of political efficacy into participatory habits.

In his future research, Professor Groenendyk will continue to investigate the factors that motivate citizens to engage in politics. He is particularly interested in examining the conditions under which citizens use information efficiently and what causes information to be wasted.

Professor Groenendyk teaches courses in American government, public opinion, political behavior, and methodology.