About

Steven Greene is a professor of Political Science at North Carolina State University, where he has been a faculty member since 2002. He holds a BA in Political Science from Duke University and both an MA and PhD from Ohio State University. His research and expertise broadly focus on American public opinion and American elections, with specific interests in gender and politics, media and politics, political parties, and North Carolina politics. Greene's scholarly work has been published in a wide array of peer-reviewed Political Science journals, including The American Political Science Review, Political Research Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly, and Gender and Politics. He is also the author of the book 'The Politics of Parenthood: Causes and Consequences of the Politicization of the American Family,' co-authored with Laurel Elder of Hartwick College. In addition to his research, Greene provides regular commentary on national and North Carolina politics, appearing on various television and radio outlets such as BBC-4, CBS Early Show, CNN, CNBC, NPR, and stations in Canada, Jamaica, and Colombia. His media presence also includes print outlets like The New York Times, The Times (UK), Reuters, Politico, and others. Greene's academic background includes a BA in Political Science and History from Duke University and a PhD in Political Science from Ohio State University. His professional responsibilities include serving as the Director of Undergraduate Programs for the Department of Political Science at NC State.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Psychology
• Communication
• Gender studies
• Political Science
• Computer Science
• Social psychology
• Biology
• Internet privacy
• Medicine
• Law
• Aesthetics

Selected publications

• The Poverty of Moral Foundation Messaging

  Political Communication · 2026-01-07

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  PublisherDOI

• Distinguishing Between Capital Expenditures and Ordinary Business Expenses: A Proposal for a Universal Standard

  University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform · 2025-01-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  It is apparent from an examination of the various court decisions that there is no single, common standard used to distinguish between capital expenditures and ordinary business expenses. The courts are not completely to blame for this situation, however, because the Internal Revenue Code provides little guidance on the capital/ordinary distinction. This Note proposes an amendment to the Tax Code that would provide courts with a universal standard to apply in differentiating between the two types of expenditures and that best reflects the general purpose of the Code in matching income with its related expenses. Part I analyzes the historical development of the capital/ordinary distinction and the various line-drawing tests that are currently applied by the courts. Part II proposes a Tax Code framework for distinguishing between capital and ordinary expenditures. Part III applies this framework to two instances in which courts have disagreed about the deductibility of certain expenditures: prepublication expenses of authors and publishers and bank branching expenses.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Politics of Taylor Swift: Partisanship, Gen Z, and Sexism Professor Laurel Elder Hartwick College

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Public Service Announcements and Promoting Face Masks During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  UNC Libraries · 2025-06-11

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Wearing face masks to combat the spread of COVID-19 became a politicized and contested practice in the United States, largely due to misinformation and partisan cues from masking opponents. This article examines whether Public Service Announcements (PSAs) can encourage the use of face masks. We designed two PSAs: one describes the benefits of using face masks; the other uses a novel messenger (i.e., a retired US general) to advocate for them. We conducted two studies. First, we aired our PSAs on television and surveyed residents of the media market to determine if they saw the PSA and how they felt about wearing face masks. Second, we conducted a randomized experiment on a diverse national sample. Both studies suggest that exposure to our PSAs increased support for face masks and induced greater compliance with public health advice. These findings have implications for how governments might fight pandemics.

  PublisherDOI

• Pregnancy Knowledge and Abortion Attitudes

  American Politics Research · 2025-05-17

  articleCorresponding

  In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, debates have emerged across the United States over abortion restrictions, yet little research has examined public knowledge about pregnancy fundamentals in this context. We assessed Americans’ understanding of how pregnancies are dated and the typical length of a trimester, and examined the relationship between this pregnancy knowledge and abortion attitudes. In a September 2023 national survey ( N = 1356), we found low levels of pregnancy knowledge, with only 25% of Americans correctly answering both fact-based questions about pregnancy. Those with statistically lower levels of pregnancy knowledge were men, those with lower education levels, Evangelical Christians, and those who scored high on hostile sexism. In regression analyses controlling for demographics, partisanship, and religiosity, higher pregnancy knowledge was significantly associated with greater support for legal abortion and confidence in women to use abortion exceptions appropriately. The findings suggest that a meaningful proportion of support for abortion restrictions is linked to misunderstandings about the biological realities of pregnancy.

  PublisherDOI

• A survey experiment on post-Dobbs abortion bans

  Research & Politics · 2025-07-01

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the American abortion policy landscape has been significantly altered. Through a novel survey experiment, we examine public opinion on 6-week versus 12-week abortion bans in this new context, testing whether 12-week bans are perceived as a more moderate position and garner greater support. Surprisingly, we find that Americans do not meaningfully distinguish between 6-week and 12-week bans. This suggests that attempts by some Republican officials to navigate the post-Dobbs landscape by proposing “moderate” abortion restrictions may be ineffective. However, we find that framing does matter: pro-life framing of bans increases support for candidates who endorse them, while pro-choice framing increases support for candidates who oppose them. Overall, our findings indicate that in the post-Dobbs era, the abortion debate has largely been flattened to a binary of “ban” versus “no ban,” rather than distinctions between ban timelines. As the post-Dobbs legal and political environment continues to evolve, our research provides valuable insights into how the public is responding to this new landscape of abortion politics in America.

  PublisherDOI

• Masks and racial stereotypes in a pandemic: the case for surgical masks

  UNC Libraries · 2025-05-24

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  To contain the spread of COVID-19, experts emphasize the importance of wearing masks. Unfortunately, this practice may put black people at elevated risk for being seen as potential threats by some Americans. In this study, we evaluate whether and how different types of masks affect perceptions of black and white male models. We find that non-black respondents perceive a black male model as more threatening and less trustworthy when he is wearing a bandana or a cloth mask than when he is not wearing his face covering—especially those respondents who score above average in racial resentment, a common measure of racial bias. When he is wearing a surgical mask, however, they do not perceive him as more threatening or less trustworthy. Further, it is not that non-black respondents find bandana and cloth masks problematic in general. In fact, the white model in our study is perceived more positively when he is wearing all types of face coverings. Although mandated mask wearing is an ostensibly race-neutral policy, our findings demonstrate the potential implications are not.

  PublisherDOI

• Mirrorball Politics: How Taylor Swift Reflects America's Partisan and Gender Divides

  Social Science Quarterly · 2025-11-25 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT Objectives This study explores public opinion toward global pop star Taylor Swift as a focal point gaining insights into contemporary political and social dynamics in the United States. Methods Drawing on national survey data, we investigate the intersection of partisanship, age, gender attitudes, and perceptions of Taylor Swift, a highly visible and successful woman. Results Our study reaches three important conclusions: First, views on Taylor Swift, like so much else in our society, are highly polarized by party and play an independent role in reinforcing partisan identities. Second, one of the sharpest divides on Taylor Swift is between Gen Z women and men, reflecting the pronounced gender divide among young voters that played a pivotal role in the 2024 presidential election. Finally, other than partisanship, the largest determinant of attitudes toward Taylor Swift is hostile sexism, wherein advances by women are seen as a threat. This effect manifests primarily among men, especially Republican men. Conclusion Like a “Mirrorball,” Swift has become a reflection of our society's deepest social and political fault lines and offers warning signs for the future of American politics.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Public Opinion on Abortion in Post-Roe America

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024-01-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Confusion over how pregnancy dates are measured is widespread – and makes for uninformed debate over abortion limits

  2024-05-14 · 1 citations

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  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• C. L. Morris

  Los Alamos National Laboratory

  49 shared

• W. B. Cottingame

  Los Alamos National Laboratory

  30 shared

• Laurel Elder

  Hartwick College

  28 shared

• R.W. Garnett

  26 shared

• J. D. Zumbro

  Los Alamos National Laboratory

  26 shared

• S. J. Seestrom

  25 shared

• F. W. Hersman

  University of New Hampshire

  25 shared

• M. A. Plum

  25 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Public Policy

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  2000

• M.A., Public Policy

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  1997

• B.A., Political Science

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  1994