Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

Tommy Bordes

Perceived Sincerity Across the Aisle in Polarized America

This research project explores a novel barrier to political dialogue in the U.S.: the belief that political opponents don’t genuinely believe their own views. While prior work highlights the benefits of perceived authenticity—like increased trust and social closeness—this study focuses on authenticity meta-perceptions, or whether people believe others truly mean what they say. We hypothesize that individuals are less likely to see opposing partisans as sincere, which could reduce their willingness to engage in political conversation. Using archival, correlational, and experimental methods, the project aims to uncover how these asymmetries in perceived authenticity may deepen polarization and hinder productive discourse.

Message To Sponsor

Dear Donors, Thank you so much for this opportunity to engage in paid research with Erica this summer. I'm going into my fourth year, and this will be my second year with her. I've long been looking for the opportunity to help conduct real research, that turns into a real paper, and it's been very difficult to do that while working my work-study job on campus. This funding means I'll really have the chance to focus on it, for the first time in my life. It's something I've been pouring more and more of my free time into for free already, and this just makes it so much more exciting. I think this might become my career, if it continues like this. I thank you for making that dream seem plausible.