Nicholas A. Valentino

Nicholas A. Valentino is the Donald R. Kinder Collegiate Professor of Political Science and Research Professor in the Center for Political Studies at the University of Michigan. He currently serves as a Principal Investigator of the American National Election Studies (ANES) and was President of the International Society for Political Psychology (2019-2020).

He specializes in political psychological approaches to public opinion formation, socialization, information seeking, and electoral participation, employing experimental methods, surveys, and content analysis. His research examines the intersection of racial attitudes and public emotions, particularly the distinct roles of anger versus fear, and the development of empathy for ethnic outgroups.

Education includes:

• PhD in Political Science, University of California Los Angeles
• AB in Political Science, Brown University

Research interests focus on:

• Racial attitudes in political decision-making
• Emotional mechanisms in political behavior
• Group empathy and social divisions
• Media effects on political attitudes
• Survey methodology and measurement

His publications analyze emotional substrates of political attitudes, racial schemas in party politics, and immigration opinion dynamics. Recent work examines the political consequences of fear and anger, measurement of group schemas, and empathy cultivation across group boundaries. His books include 'Seeing Us in Them: Social Divisions and the Politics of Group Empathy' and 'Beyond Rationality: Behavioral Political Science in the 21st Century'.

He has advised numerous doctoral students who now hold positions at institutions including University of Maryland, Cornell University, Stony Brook University, and University of North Carolina. His research on racial rhetoric and political empathy has influenced understandings of polarization and intergroup relations in contemporary politics.