Kevin Arceneaux

Kevin (Vin) Arceneaux is Director of the CEVIPOF and Professor of Political Science.

He studies how people form beliefs and attitudes about politics and, ultimately, make political decisions. His research focuses on how social psychological factors influence

and shape people’s motives to consume (or not consume) particular forms of news media, defend (or fail to defend) particular beliefs and attitudes as well as behave in particular ways.

In all, his work seeks to grapple with an enduring puzzle in social science: Even when people are embedded in the same social context and face the same social forces, individuals vary in many important ways and consequential ways. Social group identities are stronger for some and weaker for others. Some people are driven by needs for social reputation, while others are less so. Many individuals rely on their intuitions, while some seek to be reflective. And so on. These individuals differences matter, too, as they shed light on why some people develop strong, seemingly implacable poltiical opinions, while others remain more open minded, and still others don’t seem to care much about politics. Understanding how social forces and psychological differences interact to shape individual political behavior is key to understanding the contingent and protean nature of social and political outcomes.

Publications