Virginia Commonwealth University - Political Science
Associate Chair
Source alerts can reduce the harms of foreign disinformation
Jason Arnold, Alexandra Reckendorf, and Amanda Wintersieck
Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review
Social media companies have begun to use content-based alerts in their efforts to combat mis- and disinformation, including fact-check corrections and warnings of possible falsity, such as “This claim about election fraud is disputed.” Another harm reduction tool, source alerts, can be effective when a hidden foreign hand is known or suspected. This paper demonstrates that source alerts (e.g., “Determined by Twitter to be a Russian government account”) attached to pseudonymous posts can reduce the likelihood that users will believe and share political messages.
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Do Americans’ Perceptions of the Prevalence of Prejudice Impact Their Racial Policy Preferences? Investigating Meta-Stereotypes as a Potential Causal Mechanism
Alexandra Reckendorf
Dissertation, University of South Carolina
Racial discrimination, though more subtle than in the past, is still an enduring presence in 21st century America. Whether looking at education, health care, the workforce, housing/lending practices, or the criminal justice system, studies routinely confirm that racial prejudice and discrimination persist despite claims of a “post-racial” America. Yet, despite the perseverance of racial prejudice and discrimination, policies correcting racial injustice remain contentious, either failing to receive the requisite support to pass reforms or receiving backlash from the public. This project explores meta-stereotypes in the Black and white communities, and highlights meta-stereotypes’ potential impact when determining why some individuals support those types of policies while other individuals oppose them. Meta-stereotypes are essentially stereotypes of stereotypes; they assess how pervasive an individual believes specific stereotypes are. Using an original survey experiment, this study investigates whether meta-stereotypes act as a causal mechanism, dictating individuals’ policy preferences regarding two issue areas related, whether directly or indirectly, to discussions of racial prejudice and discrimination: affirmative action and criminal justice reforms. Additionally, by exploring individuals’ meta-stereotypes as both an abstract concept, and also as a more concrete, real-world concept, by way of hypothetical scenarios, this dissertation project aims to determine whether meta-stereotypes alone are enough to impact racial policy preferences, or whether individuals need to have those meta-stereotypes activated and/or linked to real-world scenarios, thus providing guidance to racial justice advocates trying to gain allies and overcome complacency or opposition.
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Experiential Learning in the "First in the Nation" Primary State: Efficacy and Impact of a REAL Political Science Educational Experience
Alexandra Reckendorf, Deirdre Condit, Maddie Quigley, and Hollie Wilburn
Working Paper, Presented at the 2023 APSA Teaching & Learning Conference
This study examines the efficacy and impact of a political science "study away" course to New Hampshire in the weeks preceding the 2016 and 2020 First in the Nation presidential primary elections. Specifically, this study uses a mixed-methods approach, combining survey research and focus groups, to investigate whether this sort of experiential learning program impacts subjects' political engagement, as well as their personal and professional growth, and an institutional affinity toward their university. This study is important because it expands our understanding of how experiential learning may shape students in normatively desirable ways, and it does so by looking beyond the traditional scope of experiential learning literature, focusing on a domestic "study away" experience of an intermediate length rather than on traditional study abroad programs, internships, and classroom simulations.
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