I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Political Science department at the US Naval Academy. I received my PhD in 2018 from the University of Minnesota. My broad research agenda involves understanding how threat and anxiety affect the ways people form political decisions and become involved in participatory democracy. My dissertation focused on how different rhetorical frames and different personalities interact to shape how people respond to political threats. Specifically, the framing of threat as controllable (preventable) rather than uncontrollable (inevitable) causes some people to increase their political participation, but also increases partisan polarization among the public as a whole. As mainstream politicians rely more and more on threat to gain support, it is important to understand what effect their rhetoric has on the public.

In addition, I also research survey methodology and measurement. At USNA, I teach courses on Political Psychology, American Government, and Methodology.

On this website, you can view my CV, my published research, and read about my working papers and teaching. If you have any questions, please contact me at smithb[at]usna[dot]edu.