People

Ingrid J. Haas, Ph.D.

[email | faculty website | cv | google scholar]

Dr. Ingrid Haas is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Chair in the Department of Political Science. She is Resident Faculty in the Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior (CB3), Courtesy Faculty in the Department of Psychology, and a Faculty Fellow with the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI). Dr. Haas directs the Political Attitudes and Cognition (PAC) Lab. She is interested in understanding political decision making and the expression of political attitudes and beliefs, and how decision making and attitude expression are influenced by contextual factors such as emotion and identity. She conducts interdisciplinary research on political behavior using theory and methods from political psychology, social psychology, and cognitive neuroscience in the context of American politics and international security. Her specific areas of expertise include attitudes, social cognition, emotion, prejudice, social identity, experimental and survey design, quantitative research methods and statistics, and structural and functional MRI (sMRI/fMRI). Her research is currently funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. She earned a PhD and MA in social psychology from The Ohio State University, and BA in psychology from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. 

Pierce Ekstrom, Ph.D.

[email | faculty website | cv | google scholar]

Dr. Pierce Ekstrom is an assistant professor of Political Science. He studies the causes and consequences of political disagreement. On the "cause" side, he is particularly interested in how psychological individual differences give rise to diverse political preferences and in how individuals' moral values and politicized identities create outright conflict from these differences of opinion. As for "consequences," he is interested in both the desirable effects of political disagreement (e.g., critical re-evaluations of existing practices) and its undesirable effects (e.g., political prejudice, biased information-sharing). Dr. Ekstrom has a courtesy appointment in the Psychology Department and is affiliated with the Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior. He earned his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Minnesota and his B.A. in Psychology and Political Science from the University of Chicago.

Brendan Fee 

[email]

Brendan studies ideologies that serve to justify sociopolitical systems of oppression and structural inequality, as well as their psychological antecedents and consequences. Alongside his current work exploring the impacts of group membership and sociopolitical identities on political evaluation, he is investigating psychological impacts of the myth of American meritocracy. A third line of research explores the ideological maintenance of heteronormative social categories and hierarchies that marginalize LGBTQ+ communities.

Brendan will be starting a Ph.D. program in social psychology at the City University of New York in Fall 2025. 

Zeenat Ahmed 

[email]

Zeenat Ahmed is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Saint Peter's University, New Jersey. Her research interests are in political psychology, covering political ideologies, political identity, and political ideology belief systems.

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I have a BA and an MA in International Relations (IR). I am currently a first-year Ph.D. student in Political Science, specializing in International Relations (IR) and Political Psychology (Poly-Psy). I am particularly interested in studying how political leaders' psychology, personal traits, ideologies, identities, and emotions influence their understanding of international politics and their foreign policy decision-making process.

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Taylor is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He received his Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Political Science and History from Doane University and his Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His main research interests include state and local public policy and politics, as well as the application of political psychology to them.

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John is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Concordia University, Nebraska. He is primarily interested in the relation between social identity, belief systems and moral values as they apply to political polarization and the amelioration of intractable conflict.

[email]

Alyssa Noe is a Ph.D student in the Political Science Department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Northern Iowa and Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her primary area of study is celebrity endorsements' impact on information processing. Alyssa also studies nuclear energy, focusing on framing and source cues impact on nuclear energy attitudes. 

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Doyeon Park is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research interests are American politics, the relationship between the President and Congress, and public policy. He is primarily interested in employing text-as-data.

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Susie Pratt is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration from the University of Northern Iowa. Her research interests are in American politics, public policy, and budgetary politics.

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Rachel is a third-year Political Science Ph.D. student, interested in elite foreign policy decision-making, experimental design and methods, and Anthropocenic environmental international security. She completed her Master of Research in Security, Conflict, and Human Rights at the University of Exeter, focusing on interdisciplinary approaches to research and mixed methods. Her thesis qualitatively studied the AUKUS alliance in the midst of a rising China. Rachel completed her B.A. in Psychology with minors in National Security, Political Science, Global Studies, and English also at UNL, and additionally holds an A.A. from Southeast Community College in General Studies. She is an avid runner and loves being outside!

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Ding Xu is a PhD student at UNL studying Political Psychology. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Iowa. His research focuses on how people's social identities and existing belief systems influence their political behavior. In addition, he's interested in experimental methods and applying sociological and psychological theories to politics.

Kym Dykstra

Kym Dykstra is a sophomore majoring in Political Science on the Pre-Law track with a minor in Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs. She is particularly interested in the effects of political polarization and how different political ideologies interconnect. After graduation, she plans to attend law school where she would like to specialize in criminal, civil rights, or family law. On campus, she is involved in ASUN and the University Honors Program. She also serves as a page for the Nebraska State Legislature.

Mary Gerend

Mary Gerend is a freshman majoring in psychology and communications with an emphasis in public health. She has a keen interest in the effects different cultural and sociological backgrounds have on the psychological processes behind political ideology, and how this cements itself into health policy. After graduation, she plans to attend graduate school and work in a related field. On campus, she is involved in the honors program and Gamma Phi Beta.

Mercedes Gilliland 

Mercedes is a junior majoring in Political Science with a minor in Criminal Justice and National Security. She is interested in the way politics plays a role in the media and how it shapes political attitudes and beliefs. After graduation, Mercedes is interested in attending graduate school and continuing her education in political science. On campus, she is part of the executive team for the Intelligence Community Scholars.

Rowan Johnson 

Rowan Johnson is a sophomore majoring in Political Science and Psychology. He is interested in the formation of political beliefs and biases, as well as influences on voting behavior. After graduation, Rowan hopes to attend either law school or graduate school.

Zein Saleh 

Zein is majoring in Political Science and Psychology with a minor in Arabic. He is particularly interested in social categorization and the effects of racial diversity on political attitudes and intergroup relations. On campus, he is involved in ASUN and as a TA in the psychology department. After graduation, Zein hopes to attend graduate school to attain a Ph.D. in Social Psychology.

Nozomi Tanaka

Nozomi is an undergraduate student majoring in Political Science with interests in political psychology and diplomacy, especially in the psychological response to laws and rules arising from negative emotions like fear and anger. Nozomi hopes to attend graduate school or law school.

Eme Troy

Eme is a sophomore majoring in Global Studies, Political Science, and Spanish with a minor in National Security Studies. She is focused on the intersectionality of these studies through interests in political psychology and its pertinence to language acquisition and bilingual interactions, international relations, and security issues that are of relevance to international negotiation. She is involved on campus and in the community as a board member of Intelligence Community Scholars, Global Ties Nebraska, and Rotary International Youth Exchange as a mentor, and UNL Women's Hockey. Following graduation she intends to persue a graduate program and apply her skills to work in academia or the Federal State Department, specifically diplomatic or intelligence fields.