MILWAUKEE – David Redlawsk, professor of political science at Rutgers University, will discuss the relation among information, emotions and voter decision-making at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Oct. 12 at 3:30 p.m. in Curtin Hall, 3234 N. Downer Ave., room 175. The discussion, hosted by the university’s Center for 21st Century Studies (C21), is free and open to the public.
Redlawsk is the author of Why Iowa? How Caucuses and Sequential Elections Improve the Presidential Nominating Process (with Caroline Tolbert and Todd Donovan) and How Voters Decide: Information Processing in an Election Campaign (with Richard Lau). He runs the Eagleton Poll, one of the oldest university-based polls in the country.
“We’re especially excited about the timeliness of David Redlawsk’s visit,” says C21 Deputy Director, Mary Mullen. “He will speak directly to the ongoing presidential campaign, and our emotional reactions to the overwhelming amount of information about each candidate.”
Redlawsk’s talk, “Rationality: An Overrated Part of Decision Making?” will examine how behavioral decision theory provides a better understanding of what voters actually do in campaigns, she adds, including how shortcuts, emotions, and gut rationality help voters make sense of the media blitz and complicated information environment of a political campaign.
During his visit, Redlawsk will also meet with undergraduate students from the Honors College and the Office of Undergraduate Research who are studying political science or are interested in politics.
MEDIA CONTACT: Mary Mullen, 414-229-5044, mullenml@uwm.edu