About

Leonie Huddy is a Professor of Political Science at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and holds the title of SUNY Distinguished Professor. She earned her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research focuses on political behavior in the United States and other contexts through the lens of intergroup relations, with particular attention to gender, race, and ethnic relations. Recently, her work has extended to studying partisan identities and political polarization in the United States and Western Europe. Huddy has made significant contributions to the fields of social and political identities, emotions, reactions to terrorism, gender and politics, and race relations. She has served as co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology, was co-editor of the journal Political Psychology from 2005 to 2010, and is a past-president of the International Society of Political Psychology. She also serves on the American National Election Studies Board of Overseers and on numerous editorial boards in political science. Her work includes examining how nationalism and patriotism influence public opinion, as well as exploring the dynamics of social welfare support, expressive versus instrumental partisanship, and the impact of media and societal factors on national identity.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Sociology
• Law
• Political economy
• Social psychology
• Psychology
• Chemistry
• International trade
• Economics
• Aesthetics

Selected publications

• American Public Support for Higher Education in the Trump Era

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• 11 Men Care, Too: Gender, Empathy, and Political Compassion

  New York University Press eBooks · 2025-02-18

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Complexities in the Measurement of Explicit Racial Attitudes

  Cambridge University Press eBooks · 2024-12-21 · 2 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• National Identity, Patriotism, and Nationalism

  Oxford University Press eBooks · 2023-09-18

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Citizens form strong psychological attachments to the nation-state, which has proven to be a robust and enduring political entity. But citizens relate to a nation in different ways. This chapter reviews the many ways in which national attachments have been theorized and measured, drawing a sharp distinction between nationalism and patriotism. Nationalism or national chauvinism holds potentially negative normative consequences and can undercut national unity by creating internal divisions and stoking suspicion of outsiders. In contrast, patriotism fosters national solidarity, promotes trust among co-nationals, and enhances civic engagement. The chapter reviews the theoretical underpinnings, specific measurement, and political effects of both nationalism and patriotism. It also includes a discussion of the conditions under which nationalism is activated by political parties and leaders.

  PublisherDOI

• National Identity, Patriotism, and Nationalism

  Oxford University Press eBooks · 2023-09-18 · 8 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Citizens form strong psychological attachments to the nation-state, which has proven to be a robust and enduring political entity. But citizens relate to a nation in different ways. This chapter reviews the many ways in which national attachments have been theorized and measured, drawing a sharp distinction between nationalism and patriotism. Nationalism or national chauvinism holds potentially negative normative consequences and can undercut national unity by creating internal divisions and stoking suspicion of outsiders. In contrast, patriotism fosters national solidarity, promotes trust among co-nationals, and enhances civic engagement. The chapter reviews the theoretical underpinnings, specific measurement, and political effects of both nationalism and patriotism. It also includes a discussion of the conditions under which nationalism is activated by political parties and leaders.

  PublisherDOI

• Introduction

  Oxford University Press eBooks · 2023-09-18

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract This chapter serves as an introduction to the Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology. It provides an overview of the field, focusing on key theories, topics, and empirical approaches. The chapter begins by defining political psychology as the behavior of individuals within a specific political system. This is followed by a lengthy discussion on the major intellectual underpinnings of political psychology in biopolitics, personality, cognitive and affective psychology, and intergroup relations. These approaches are often contrasted with a rational approach to human behavior and help to explain why human political behavior often falls short of the democratic ideal. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the volume’s organization and an overview of its specific chapters.

  PublisherDOI

• Introduction

  Oxford University Press eBooks · 2023-09-18

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract This chapter serves as an introduction to the Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology. It provides an overview of the field, focusing on key theories, topics, and empirical approaches. The chapter begins by defining political psychology as the behavior of individuals within a specific political system. This is followed by a lengthy discussion on the major intellectual underpinnings of political psychology in biopolitics, personality, cognitive and affective psychology, and intergroup relations. These approaches are often contrasted with a rational approach to human behavior and help to explain why human political behavior often falls short of the democratic ideal. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the volume’s organization and an overview of its specific chapters.

  PublisherDOI

• Partisanship in times of crisis: evidence from Italy

  Political Science Research and Methods · 2022-09-26 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract There is a continuing debate over the political importance and durability of partisan attachments in European multi-party systems. Drawing on a nationally representative five-wave panel, we provide a longitudinal test of the power of partisanship in Italy over the course of the tumultuous 2013 national elections. We find that a strong partisan affiliation measured as a social identity two years prior to the election promoted system stability by increasing support for the in-party and inhibiting electoral support for the insurgent Five Star Movement (M5S). In contrast, non-partisans, especially highly educated ones, were more likely than partisans to vote for M5S. Our results illustrate the role of partisanship in stabilizing multi-party systems amid crisis.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Replication Data for: Partisanship in Times of Crisis – Evidence from Italy

  Harvard Dataverse · 2022-06-27

  datasetOpen accessSenior author

  There is a continuing debate over the political importance and durability of partisan attachments in European multi-party systems. Drawing on a nationally representative 5-wave panel, we provide a longitudinal test of the power of partisanship in Italy over the course of the tumultuous 2013 national elections. We find that a strong partisan affiliation measured as a social identity two years prior to the election promoted system stability by increasing support for the in-party and inhibiting electoral support for the insurgent Five Star Movement (M5S). In contrast, non-partisans, especially highly educated ones, were more likely than partisans to vote for M5S. Our results illustrate the role of partisanship in stabilizing multi-party systems amid crisis.

  PublisherDOI

• XV. Intergruppenvorurteile und Stereotype

  Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG eBooks · 2022-01-01

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Politisches Verhalten aus psychologischer bzw. sozialpsychologischer Perspektive zu untersuchen, ist Aufgabe der Politischen Psychologie. Ihre Themengebiete umfassen unter anderem die Analyse politischer Eliten, insbesondere deren Persönlichkeit, Motive und Handlungen, politische Führung, außenpolitische Entscheidungsprozesse, internationale und ethnische Konflikte und deren Befriedung, Terrorismus, Bedingungen kollektiven Handelns, Gruppenverhalten, politische Sozialisation und Einstellungen, Stereotype und Vorurteile, Wahlverhalten, politische Kommunikation und Informationsverarbeitung, Medienwirkungen und Öffentliche Meinung. Renommierte internationale und deutschsprachige Vertreterinnen und Vertreter der Politischen Psychologie stellen in diesem Handbuch, welches nun in 2., aktualisierter und erweiterter Auflage vorliegt, die thematische Bandbreite dieser Teildisziplin erstmals in deutscher Sprache vor. Das Handbuch richtet sich an Studierende und Lehrende der Politischen Psychologie, Politikwissenschaft, Psychologie oder Sozialpsychologie sowie an alle an den Themen und Theorieansätzen der Politischen Psychologie Interessierten. Mit Beiträgen von Kai Arzheimer, Daniel Bar-Tal, Simon Bein, Klaus Boehnke, Franziska Deutsch, YohananEshel, Ofer Feldman, Stanley Feldman, Cornelia Frank, Henrik Gast, RayneeGutting, Katja Hanke, Sascha Huber, Leonie Huddy, Anke Hufer-Thamm, Rajiv S. Jhangiani, Christian Kandler, Shaul Kimhi, Angela Kindervater, Bernhard Leidner, Mengyao Li, Brian Lickel, Jürgen Maier, Michael F. Meffert, Michaela Pfundmair, Jerrold M. Post, Anna-Maria Renner, Rainer Riemann, Susanne Rippl, Tobias Rothmund, Christian Seipel, Markus Steinbrecher, Peter Suedfeld, Linda R. Tropp, Soli Vered und Sonja Zmerli.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Stanley Feldman

  30 shared

• Donald P. Green

  Columbia University

  12 shared

• Der Straeen

  Lynn University

  12 shared

• Betsy Paluck

  Temple College

  12 shared

• Kevin Arceneaux

  University of Amsterdam

  12 shared

• Daniel Rubenson

  Cornell University

  10 shared

• Tereza Capelos

  University of Southampton

  9 shared

• Erin Cassese

  University of Delaware

  8 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Social Psychology

  University of California, Los Angeles

Awards & honors

• Past-president of the International Society of Political Psy…