People
Lau, Richard
- Richard Lau
- Distinguished Professor
- Subfield: American Politics, Methods
- Office: 409 Hickman Hall
- Phone: 848-932-6685
- Click for Website
- Specialties:
Political Psychology Public Opinion Political Persuasion Political Cognition Decision Making Decision Quality Emotions Media Effects
- Graduate Content:
- Program in American Politics
- Bio:
Rick Lau earned his B.A. from Stanford University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from UCLA. He taught at Carnegie Mellon University before coming to Rutgers in 1990.
His chief research interests include political cognition and political decision-making; media effects in political campaigns; the effects of metaphors in public opinion and political persuasion; institutional means for improving democratic representation; the role of self-interest in political attitudes and behavior; and health policy. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, and the Ford Foundation.
- Teaching:
790:303: Elections and Participation
790:348: Psychology and Politics
790:611: Public Opinion
790:612: Psychology of Political Behavior
790:670: Multivariate Statistics - Publications:
Kleinberg, Mona S., and Richard R. Lau. 2021. “Googling Politics: How Offloading Affects Voting and Political Knowledge.” Political Psychology, 42(February): 93 - 110. DOI:10.1111
Lau, Richard R., Mona S. Kleinberg, and Tessa M. Ditonto. 2018. “Measuring Voter Decision Strategies in Political Behavior and Public Opinion Research.” Public Opinion Quarterly, 82 (Supp): 325 - 350. DOI: 10.1093
Lau, Richard R., Parina Patel, Dalia F. Fahmy, and Robert R. Kaufman. 2014. “Correct Voting Across Thirty-Three Democracies: A Preliminary Analysis.” British Journal of Political Science, 44(April): 239 - 259. DOI: 10.1017/S0007123412000610 [This paper won the 2014 GESIS Klingemann Prize for the Best CSES Scholarship completed in 2013.]
Lau, Richard R, Lee Sigelman, and Ivy Brown Rovner. 2007. “The Effects of Negative Political Campaigns: A Meta-Analytic Reassessment.” Journal of Politics, 69(November): 1176 - 1209. DOI:10.1111/j.1468-2508.2007.00618.x
Lau, Richard R. and David P. Redlawsk. 2001. "Advantages and Disadvantages of Cognitive Heuristics in Political Decision Making." American Journal of Political Science, 45(October): 951 - 971. doi.org/10.2307/2669334 [Reprinted in Richard G. Niemi, Herbert F. Weisberg, and David C. Kimball, (Eds.) Controversies in Voting Behavior, 5th edition. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2011.]
Lau, Richard R. and David P. Redlawsk. 1997. "Voting Correctly." American Political Science Review, 91(September): 585 - 599. doi.org/10.2307/2952076 [Reprinted in Richard G. Niemi and Herbert F. Weisberg, (Eds.) Controversies in Voting Behavior, 4th edition. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2001.]
