I am a PhD Candidate in Political Science at the University of Rochester seeking a position in American politics starting in Fall 2025.  My research interests lie at the intersection of political behavior and institutions, focusing in the broadest sense on the formation and change of political preferences and attitudes. My current work centers on public opinion and political psychology, approaching empirical research with close attention to theory and measurement. 

Specifically, my job market paper advances the theory and methodology of framing effects, within the paradigm of emphasis framing and the expectancy value model. My research interests in preferences often cross over into the study of institutions, including party influence on legislator preferences in Congress, and the ideological dynamics of agency regulations. My early work, which appears in American Politics Research and Presidential Studies Quarterly examines elite opinion leadership, focusing on Donald Trump’s role in driving free trade attitudes amid the broader partisan realignment over free trade. 

A personal goal of mine is to promote communication between the institutional and behavioral  subfields of American Politics, both theoretically and methodologically.   For my publications, dissertation research and other ongoing projects, see my research page here. For information about my teaching experience, click here. For my CV, click here.  You can reach me by email at: joseph.essig[at]rochester.edu.
(Google Scholar Profile) 

Education:

• Ph.D, Political Science, University of Rochester (2019 - 2025, ABD) Robert L. and Mary L. Sproull Fellow

• M.A., Political Science, University of Rochester (2022)

• B.A., English & Political Science - University of Rhode Island (2015-2019)  Phi Beta Kappa