Emily Sydnor received her PhD from University of Virginia in 2015, her MA from University of Virginia in 2011, and her BA from George Washington University in 2008. 

She specializes in political communication and political psychology, and her research focuses on incivility in the media, its interaction with individual psychological traits, and its influence on political behavior.  She is also interested in the scholarship of teaching and learning, particularly assessment and community-engaged learning. 

Dr. Sydnor is affiliated with the American Political Science Association, the Midwest Political Science Association, and the International Society for Political Psychology.

My research draws on theories and methods from political science, communication and social psychology.  My interdisciplinary approach focuses on the implications of the tone of mediated discourse, and argues that Americans’ non-political predispositions—like their tolerance for conflict or argument—interact with this tone to dictate political behavior. 

Currently, I’m continuing my work on political incivility by investigating when and under what conditions incivility can be used to successfully further democratic goals. I’m also collaborating with Dr. Emily Pears (Claremont McKenna College) on a book about state identity and its role in contemporary political behavior. 

Book: 

Disrespectful Democracy: The Psychology of Political Incivility, available from Columbia University Press. 

Book:

Disrespectful Democracy: The Psychology of Political Incivility, available from Columbia University Press.

Peer-Reviewed Publications:

Santoro, Lauren Ratliff and Emily Sydnor (2023). “Blind Trust, Blind Skepticism: Liberals and Conservatives’ Response to Academic Research” American Politics Research, OnlineFirst.

Pears, Emily and Emily Sydnor (2022). “COVID-19 and the Culture of American Federalism” RSF: The Journal of the Russell Sage Foundation 8 (8): 181-220.

Sydnor, Emily, Emily Tesmer* and Breely Peterson*. (2022). “Confronting Politics: The Role of Conflict Orientation in Shaping Political Debate” Journal of Deliberative Democracy.

Pears, Emily, and Emily Sydnor. (2022). “The Correlates and Characteristics of State Identity” Publius: The Journal of Federalism 52(2): 173-200.

**Winner, John Kincaid Best Article Award from the Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations section of APSA (2023)

Sydnor, Emily, Margaret Commins and Veronica Reyna (2021). “Empowering and Engaging Students through Civically Engaged Research” PS: Political Science & Politics, 54(4): 730-733.

Sydnor, Emily. (2018). “Platforms for Incivility: Examining Perceptions Across Media” Political Communication 35 (1): 97-116.

Sydnor, Emily and Danielle Psimas.* (2017). “Easing Political Digestion: The Effects of News Curation on Citizens Behavior.” Journal of Information Technology & Politics 14(3): 189-213.

Sydnor, Emily and Nicole Pankiewicz. (2017). “Assessing Undergraduate Learning in Political Science: Development and Implementation of the PACKS Survey” PS: Political Science & Politics 50(1): 204-208.

Book Chapters

Sydnor, Emily. (2021). “Look for the Motives Behind (Un)civil Speech” in Fixing American Politics: Civic Priorities for the Media Age, Roderick P. Hart, ed. New York: Routledge.

Flores, Madison*, Megan Nair*, Meredith Rasmussen* and Emily Sydnor. (2021). “Civility through Comparative Lens: Challenges and Achievements” in Crossing Boundaries: Political Incivility in the Parliamentary, Electoral and Media Arena. Annemarie Walter, ed. New York: Routledge.

Sydnor, Emily (2019). “Signaling Incivility: The Role of Speaker, Substance and Tone” in A Crisis of Civility? Contemporary Research on Civility, Incivility and Political Discourse. Robert G. Boatright, Timothy J. Shaffer, Sarah Sobieraj, and Dannagal Goldthwaite Young, eds. New York: Routledge.

Book Reviews & Reports

Sydnor, Emily (2023). Review of What Goes Without Saying: Navigating Political Discussion in America. By Taylor N. Carlson and Jaime Settle. Public Opinion Quarterly.

Sydnor, Emily (2021). “With Laughter and a Little Follow-Through: Moving from Hobbyist to Activist” Journal of Politics.

Sydnor, Emily (2020). “Watching the ‘Partisan Circus:’ Civility in the Texas Senatorial Debates.” in Civility and the 2018 U.S. Senate Debates, Robert G. Boatright, ed. Tucson, AZ: National Institute for Civil Discourse.

Sydnor, Emily (2020). “From ‘Clown’ to ‘Community’: The Democratic Potential of Civility and Incivility” in U.S. Elections Analysis 2020: Media, Voters and the Campaign, Danielle Coombs, Dan Jackson, Darren Lilleker, Einar Thorsen and Filippo Trevisan, eds. Poole, England: The Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community.

Media and Other Publications: 

“Does Incivility Hurt Democracy? Here’s What Political Science Can Tell Us.” Washington Post, June 27, 2018.