Carlisle Robert Rainey
- Courses1
- Reviews13
- School: Texas A&M University
- Campus: College Station
- Department: Political Science
- Email address: Join to see
- Phone: Join to see
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Location:
College Station, TX - Dates at Texas A&M University: April 2017 - April 2018
- Office Hours: Join to see
Biography
Texas A&M University College Station - Political Science
Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University
Higher Education
Carlisle
Rainey
Bryan/College Station, Texas Area
Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Texas A&M UniversityLately I've been working on problems in political methodology, mostly related to how we draw conclusions from statistical models. Graduated from FSU with a Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science and an M.S. from the Department of Statistics.
Experience
Florida State University
Graduate Student
Graduate student in the departments of political science and statistics. Interested in elections, models, and inference.
University at Buffalo
Assistant Professor
Carlisle Robert worked at University at Buffalo as a Assistant Professor
Texas A&M University
Assistant Professor
Carlisle Robert worked at Texas A&M University as a Assistant Professor
Education
Florida State University
M.S.
Political Science
Florida State University
Ph.D.
Political Science
Major fields: American politics and comparative politicsFlorida State University
M.S.
Statistics
Florida State University
Graduate Student
Graduate student in the departments of political science and statistics. Interested in elections, models, and inference.
Publications
The Question(s) of Political Knowledge
American Political Science Review
Political knowledge is a central concept in the study of public opinion and political behavior. Yet what the field collectively believes about this construct is based on dozens of studies using different indicators of knowledge. We identify two theoretically relevant dimensions: a temporal dimension that corresponds to the time when a fact was established and a topical dimension that relates to whether the fact is policy-specific or general. The resulting typology yields four types of knowledge questions. In an analysis of more than 300 knowledge items from late in the first decade of the 2000s, we examine whether classic findings regarding the predictors of knowledge withstand differences across types of questions. In the case of education and the mass media, the mechanisms for becoming informed operate differently across question types. However, differences in the levels of knowledge between men and women are robust, reinforcing the importance of including gender-relevant items in knowledge batteries.
The Question(s) of Political Knowledge
American Political Science Review
Political knowledge is a central concept in the study of public opinion and political behavior. Yet what the field collectively believes about this construct is based on dozens of studies using different indicators of knowledge. We identify two theoretically relevant dimensions: a temporal dimension that corresponds to the time when a fact was established and a topical dimension that relates to whether the fact is policy-specific or general. The resulting typology yields four types of knowledge questions. In an analysis of more than 300 knowledge items from late in the first decade of the 2000s, we examine whether classic findings regarding the predictors of knowledge withstand differences across types of questions. In the case of education and the mass media, the mechanisms for becoming informed operate differently across question types. However, differences in the levels of knowledge between men and women are robust, reinforcing the importance of including gender-relevant items in knowledge batteries.
Strategic Mobilization: Why Proportional Representation Decreases Voter Mobilization.
Electoral Studies
Many scholars suggest that proportional representation increases party mobilization by creating nationally competitive districts that give parties an incentive to mobilize every- where. This paper provides theoretical and empirical arguments that bring this claim into question. I propose, unlike earlier scholars, that the positive effect of district competi- tiveness on party mobilization efforts increases as electoral districts become more disproportional, arguing that disproportionality itself encourages mobilization by exag- gerating the impact of competitiveness on mobilization. Individual-level survey data from national legislative elections show that competitiveness has a much larger positive effect on parties' mobilization efforts in single-member districts than in proportional districts. Contrary to prior literature, these results suggest proportional electoral rules give parties no strong incentive to mobilize anywhere.
The Question(s) of Political Knowledge
American Political Science Review
Political knowledge is a central concept in the study of public opinion and political behavior. Yet what the field collectively believes about this construct is based on dozens of studies using different indicators of knowledge. We identify two theoretically relevant dimensions: a temporal dimension that corresponds to the time when a fact was established and a topical dimension that relates to whether the fact is policy-specific or general. The resulting typology yields four types of knowledge questions. In an analysis of more than 300 knowledge items from late in the first decade of the 2000s, we examine whether classic findings regarding the predictors of knowledge withstand differences across types of questions. In the case of education and the mass media, the mechanisms for becoming informed operate differently across question types. However, differences in the levels of knowledge between men and women are robust, reinforcing the importance of including gender-relevant items in knowledge batteries.
Strategic Mobilization: Why Proportional Representation Decreases Voter Mobilization.
Electoral Studies
Many scholars suggest that proportional representation increases party mobilization by creating nationally competitive districts that give parties an incentive to mobilize every- where. This paper provides theoretical and empirical arguments that bring this claim into question. I propose, unlike earlier scholars, that the positive effect of district competi- tiveness on party mobilization efforts increases as electoral districts become more disproportional, arguing that disproportionality itself encourages mobilization by exag- gerating the impact of competitiveness on mobilization. Individual-level survey data from national legislative elections show that competitiveness has a much larger positive effect on parties' mobilization efforts in single-member districts than in proportional districts. Contrary to prior literature, these results suggest proportional electoral rules give parties no strong incentive to mobilize anywhere.
The Politics of Need: Examining Governors’ Decisions to Oppose the “Obamacare” Medicaid Expansion
State Politics and Policy Quarterly
This article explains governors’ decisions to support or oppose Medicaid expansions offered under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. We theorize that governors’ decisions to oppose the funding should depend on both political demands and the level of need in the state, though politics and need are often in tension. We find that governors’ partisanship and the composition of the legislature have substantively meaningful effects on governors’ decisions, but the level of need in the state exerts little effect on governors’ decisions. This suggests that for high profile, highly politicized issues such as the Affordable Care Act, political considerations outweigh the needs of citizens and state economic conditions in gubernatorial decision making.
The Question(s) of Political Knowledge
American Political Science Review
Political knowledge is a central concept in the study of public opinion and political behavior. Yet what the field collectively believes about this construct is based on dozens of studies using different indicators of knowledge. We identify two theoretically relevant dimensions: a temporal dimension that corresponds to the time when a fact was established and a topical dimension that relates to whether the fact is policy-specific or general. The resulting typology yields four types of knowledge questions. In an analysis of more than 300 knowledge items from late in the first decade of the 2000s, we examine whether classic findings regarding the predictors of knowledge withstand differences across types of questions. In the case of education and the mass media, the mechanisms for becoming informed operate differently across question types. However, differences in the levels of knowledge between men and women are robust, reinforcing the importance of including gender-relevant items in knowledge batteries.
Strategic Mobilization: Why Proportional Representation Decreases Voter Mobilization.
Electoral Studies
Many scholars suggest that proportional representation increases party mobilization by creating nationally competitive districts that give parties an incentive to mobilize every- where. This paper provides theoretical and empirical arguments that bring this claim into question. I propose, unlike earlier scholars, that the positive effect of district competi- tiveness on party mobilization efforts increases as electoral districts become more disproportional, arguing that disproportionality itself encourages mobilization by exag- gerating the impact of competitiveness on mobilization. Individual-level survey data from national legislative elections show that competitiveness has a much larger positive effect on parties' mobilization efforts in single-member districts than in proportional districts. Contrary to prior literature, these results suggest proportional electoral rules give parties no strong incentive to mobilize anywhere.
The Politics of Need: Examining Governors’ Decisions to Oppose the “Obamacare” Medicaid Expansion
State Politics and Policy Quarterly
This article explains governors’ decisions to support or oppose Medicaid expansions offered under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. We theorize that governors’ decisions to oppose the funding should depend on both political demands and the level of need in the state, though politics and need are often in tension. We find that governors’ partisanship and the composition of the legislature have substantively meaningful effects on governors’ decisions, but the level of need in the state exerts little effect on governors’ decisions. This suggests that for high profile, highly politicized issues such as the Affordable Care Act, political considerations outweigh the needs of citizens and state economic conditions in gubernatorial decision making.
Arguing for a Negligible Effect
American Journal of Political Science
Political scientists often theorize that an explanatory variable should have “no effect” and support this claim by demonstrating that its coefficient’s estimate is not statistically significant. This empirical argument is quite weak, but I introduce applied researchers to simple, powerful tools that can strengthen their arguments for this hypothesis. With several supporting examples, I illustrate that researchers can use 90% confidence intervals to argue against meaningful effects and provide persuasive evidence for their hypothesis.
The Question(s) of Political Knowledge
American Political Science Review
Political knowledge is a central concept in the study of public opinion and political behavior. Yet what the field collectively believes about this construct is based on dozens of studies using different indicators of knowledge. We identify two theoretically relevant dimensions: a temporal dimension that corresponds to the time when a fact was established and a topical dimension that relates to whether the fact is policy-specific or general. The resulting typology yields four types of knowledge questions. In an analysis of more than 300 knowledge items from late in the first decade of the 2000s, we examine whether classic findings regarding the predictors of knowledge withstand differences across types of questions. In the case of education and the mass media, the mechanisms for becoming informed operate differently across question types. However, differences in the levels of knowledge between men and women are robust, reinforcing the importance of including gender-relevant items in knowledge batteries.
Strategic Mobilization: Why Proportional Representation Decreases Voter Mobilization.
Electoral Studies
Many scholars suggest that proportional representation increases party mobilization by creating nationally competitive districts that give parties an incentive to mobilize every- where. This paper provides theoretical and empirical arguments that bring this claim into question. I propose, unlike earlier scholars, that the positive effect of district competi- tiveness on party mobilization efforts increases as electoral districts become more disproportional, arguing that disproportionality itself encourages mobilization by exag- gerating the impact of competitiveness on mobilization. Individual-level survey data from national legislative elections show that competitiveness has a much larger positive effect on parties' mobilization efforts in single-member districts than in proportional districts. Contrary to prior literature, these results suggest proportional electoral rules give parties no strong incentive to mobilize anywhere.
The Politics of Need: Examining Governors’ Decisions to Oppose the “Obamacare” Medicaid Expansion
State Politics and Policy Quarterly
This article explains governors’ decisions to support or oppose Medicaid expansions offered under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. We theorize that governors’ decisions to oppose the funding should depend on both political demands and the level of need in the state, though politics and need are often in tension. We find that governors’ partisanship and the composition of the legislature have substantively meaningful effects on governors’ decisions, but the level of need in the state exerts little effect on governors’ decisions. This suggests that for high profile, highly politicized issues such as the Affordable Care Act, political considerations outweigh the needs of citizens and state economic conditions in gubernatorial decision making.
Arguing for a Negligible Effect
American Journal of Political Science
Political scientists often theorize that an explanatory variable should have “no effect” and support this claim by demonstrating that its coefficient’s estimate is not statistically significant. This empirical argument is quite weak, but I introduce applied researchers to simple, powerful tools that can strengthen their arguments for this hypothesis. With several supporting examples, I illustrate that researchers can use 90% confidence intervals to argue against meaningful effects and provide persuasive evidence for their hypothesis.
Moral Concerns and Culture War Attitudes: Investigating the Influence of Elite Rhetoric
Political Communication
A growing body of research documents the crucial role played by moral concerns in the formation of attitudes and a wide range of political behaviors. Yet extant models of moral judgment portray a direct linkage between moral intuitions and policy attitudes, leaving little room for the influence of political context. In this article, we argue that political rhetoric plays an important role in facilitating the connection between moral intuitions and political attitudes. Using a unique combination of media content analysis of the stem cell debate and individual-level measures of the public’ s moral foundations, we examine the role of rhetoric in linking a person’s moral foundations to his or her attitudes. Our results show that individuals who are the most likely to have been exposed to political rhetoric have the strongest connection between their moral foundations and their attitudes on the issue. We also find that rhetoric was persuasive on this moralized issue and present suggestive evidence that it was most persuasive among those who endorsed the relevant moral foundation.
