Research

Jung, Seyoung, Younghyun Lee, and Cara Wong. Conditionally Accepted. “What Can Dual Citizens Teach Us about Political Engagement?” Political Science Research and Methods

While we witness historic changes taking place in the conception and practice of citizenship, we know little about the political consequences it may bring. What are the effects of citizenship, as a status and a process, on political engagement? To gain leverage in addressing this question, we draw on citizenship categories that combine birthplace and the number of citizenship held. We compare US-born dual citizens to both naturalized-dual citizens and US-born mono citizens, which allows us to distinguish between the potential effects of socialization and the additional legal status. The study analyzes two large nationally representative samples, presenting the first look at dual citizens in the United States. Results indicate that among dual citizens, those born in the US tend to participate more in politics than immigrants who naturalized. Among US-born citizens, the political participation of dual and mono citizens varies depending on the type of political activity. The study contributes to theoretical discussions on the relationship between an evolving citizenry and democratic participation.

Ksiazkiewicz, Aleksander, Seyoung Jung, Stephen Schneider, Jingyu Qian, Jane Betchley, and Carl Gunter. Accepted. “Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a New Genomic Security and Privacy Questionnaire in Two National Samples of United States Residents,” Scientific Reports

With the proliferation of direct-to-consumer genetic testing and the advent of personalized medicine, protecting genomic data and defining acceptable use cases is a pressing policy issue. Existing measures of public attitudes toward genomic data and how they should be handled rely primarily on single-item measures or ad hoc scales with unknown psychometric properties. In this paper, we rely on two surveys to develop a psychometrically sound genetic utility, inaccuracy, and privacy (GUIP) questionnaire, compare this measure to a single-item measure, examine how this measure varies across demographic and attitudinal factors, and explore its predictive power for genomics-related policies. The first survey was exploratory and included both open- and closed-ended questions to gauge genomic attitudes. We oversampled respondents with minoritized racial and ethnic identities (Black, Latinx, and Indigenous) to compare how identity relates to attitudes about genetics. The second survey facilitated a factor analysis on items developed from the open-ended responses, examined measurement invariance in the factor structure across racial and ethnic identities, and explored how the GUIP varies across demographic and attitudinal factors. Finally, we examined the GUIP as a predictor of genomic policy attitudes, like regulation of direct-to-consumer testing, the use of genetic genealogy by law enforcement, and uses of genomics by employers, researchers, insurers, and for personalized medicine.

Jung, Seyoung, Allison Harell, Karen Breidahl, and Laura Stephenson. 2025. “Race, Citizenship/ Immigration Status, and Contact with the Welfare State.” Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics 1–23. doi.org/10.1017/rep.2024.31

The ways in which welfare state programs structure people’s lives have been a central focus of research on policy feedback. While there is rich literature in the US about racialized experiences with the state, we know little about how immigration history intersects with racial background in moderating experiences with the state, nor have there been many studies in other liberal welfare regimes outside the US. Our study aims to fill this gap by exploring how citizenship status over generations intersects with racial background in structuring interactions with welfare state programs in Canada. Analyzing data from Democracy Checkup surveys spanning from 2020 to 2023, we focus on how needs, capabilities, and experiences may structure government contact and the extent to which these factors explain differences across citizenship and racial categories. We document a recurring difference in the amount of contact among racialized respondents—non-citizens and third-generation citizens—that cannot be explained by either need or capability. Interestingly, our findings suggest that while the greater contact among racialized non-citizens is evaluated more positively in terms of procedure, third-generation racialized citizens generally evaluate their higher contact more poorly. These findings point to the importance of understanding racialized experiences with the state through the lens of citizenship.

Jung, Seyoung, and Aleksander Ksiazkiewicz. 2022. "Implicit and Explicit State Attachment among Single and Dual American citizens." Politics, Groups, and Identities 10:2, 295-314 10.1080/21565503.2020.1789884

With increasing levels of globalization and changing patterns of migration, there is a growing interest in the nature of citizenship. Dual citizenship is of particular interest because it is a category that connotes symmetrical ties between an individual and two states, but few studies have examined state attachment among dual citizens. We address this question by comparing American dual citizens’ attitudes and behaviors toward the US in two ways: by comparing US single and dual citizens and by comparing dual citizens’ attitudes and behaviors regarding their two countries of citizenship. Comparisons are made using both self-report measures and implicit measures. By using the implicit association test (IAT), we capture implicit self-state associations while largely circumventing the issue of social desirability. Results indicate that single citizens are more attached to the US compared to dual citizens. Dual citizens showed symmetrical attachment toward their two countries of citizenship, but participated more in US politics than in their other country. The findings provide a better understanding of the attitudes and behaviors of dual citizens and suggest new directions for research on the relationship between individuals and the state.

Ksiazkiewicz, Aleksander and Seyoung Jung. 2020. “Biology and Decision Making.” In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics, edited by D.P. Redlawsk, Oxford University Press.

The study of biology and politics is rapidly moving from being an isolated curiosity to be­ ing an integral part of the theories that political scientists propose. The necessity of adopting this interdisciplinary research philosophy will be increasingly apparent as politi­ cal scientists seek to understand the precise mechanisms by which political decisions are made. To demonstrate this potential, scholars of biopolitics have addressed common mis­ conceptions about biopolitics research (i.e., the nature-nurture dichotomy and biological determinism) and used different methods to shed light on political decision making since the turn of the 21st century—including methods drawn from evolutionary psychology, ge­ nomics, neuroscience, psychophysiology, and endocrinology. The field has already come far in its understanding of the biology of political decision making, and several key find­ ings have emerged in biopolitical studies of political belief systems, attitudes, and behav­ iors. This area of research sheds light on the proximate and ultimate causes of political cognition and elucidates some of the ways in which human biology shapes both the hu­ man universals that make politics possible and the human diversity that provides it with such dynamism. Furthermore, three emerging areas of biopolitics research that antici­ pate the promise of a biologically informed political science are research into gene-envi­ ronment interplay, research into the political causes and consequences of variation in hu­ man microbiomes, and research that integrates chronobiology—the study of the biologi­ cal rhythms that regulate many aspects of life, including sleep—into the study of political decision making.

Jung, Seyoung. 2022. “Study of Oxytocin in Biopolitics.” In Biopolitics at 50 Years: Founding and Evolution, edited by T. Wohlers and A. Fletcher, Emerald Group Publishing.

In recent decades, oxytocin (OT) has been extensively studied across disci- plines. Yet, the role of OT has been discussed little in the context of politics. This chapter proposes that studying the role of this hormone can enrich and advance the study of politics. The chapter reviews the previous !ndings on OT categorized into two sections: one that focuses on the biological mechanisms and therapeutic potentials and another that focuses on the effects on social behaviors. This review is not exhaustive but is intended to bring political sci- entists up to date with the progress in OT studies. Next, this chapter highlights that studying the role of OT in political context will bene!t both the OT and political science literature, since there is currently a great interest in the context-dependent nature of OT. I highlight several research questions that can be answered at this intersection. Rather than waiting for other disciplines to complete unfolding the precise role of OT, students of biopolitics can make important contributions. Political science can further understand the biological underpinnings of concern for others and partisan behaviors, while OT applied to real-world settings would demonstrate how different contexts shape its effects.

Jung, Seyoung. "Partisan Conformity and Political Intolerance." 

As partisan prejudice increases, citizens show discriminating intolerance, opposing the rights of groups on the opposite side. Paying attention to partisan dynamics, this project examines how partisan identity and conformity shape political intolerance. I test whether a request for partisan conformity increases their willingness to act on political intolerance, using a vignette experiment where co-partisans ask to sign a petition to ban the protest of the least-liked group. Furthermore, I investigate which mechanism underlies this conformity, particularly comparing the narratives involving ingroup praise or outgroup derogation. Results indicate that co-partisans can influence other co-partisans to behave in a politically intolerant manner. While both types of narratives induced partisan conformity, more respondents opted for displaying their names in limiting others’ civil activities when a narrative blaming the outgroup was given as a reason for solidarity. The findings contribute to our understanding of attitudinal and behavioral changes when political intolerance meets polarization.

Jung, Seyoung. "Spillover of Arguing for a Rally." 

The rise of protest politics reflects the current politics' divisive and contentious state. At the same time, this rise in political activism may reinforce citizens’ understanding of protests as a meaningful political instrument and resource. This study examines whether this perspective on protests influences the level of political tolerance. Using a survey experiment, I test whether the experience of arguing for the rally of their most-liked group increases the willingness to allow the rally of their least-liked group. Results indicate that political activism can increase the willingness to permit the extension of rights of citizenship to the group they feel neither favorable nor unfavorable, but does not increase such willingness to the group they like the least. The limitation in the spillover of political activism on political tolerance highlights the challenges of overcoming deep-seated negativity in political tolerance.

Jung, Seyoung. "The Effects of Denying a Rally Permit on Mayoral Approval and Political Tolerance." 

The tension between the value of civil liberties and the value of public order has recently become more salient. At this intersection, studies on political tolerance explore under which conditions citizens support the extension of rights of citizenship to others whose ideas or interests they oppose. Yet, few have incorporated the dynamics that politicians shape the way citizens arrive at their political tolerance decision. This paper pays attention to a politician’s decision over a rally permit and studies its effect on citizens’ attitudes toward the politician and the group involved in the rally. Furthermore, this paper makes the connection between accountability and political tolerance literature and brings a performance-oriented perspective to the study of political tolerance. In particular, I disentangle citizens’ sociotropic and egocentric considerations as they respond to the consequences of the mayor’s decision. The findings from a factorial experiment show that the mayor’s decision to deny the rally has a negative impact on mayoral approval but no impact on political tolerance. I also find some evidence that the consequences of the mayor’s decision influence the level of mayoral approval and political tolerance. These findings have theoretical and empirical implications for understanding the relationship between citizens, their disliked group, and their politicians, especially in this era of polarization.

Boundaries of political membership are dynamic and continually reshaped by global migration and the public’s response to it. As democratic societies confront questions of inclusion, this study investigates how individuals conceptualize the boundaries of voting rights. Drawing on original public opinion data from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, we examine how citizens perceive non-citizen residents and non-resident citizens as political members—and why. We also assess whether these membership boundaries can be shifted through priming and framing. Our findings show that traditional models are the most prevalent, but public opinion reflects a nuanced understanding of electoral context, with differing attitudes across levels of election. While attitudes toward emigrant voting are responsive to framing, support for immigrant voting rights remains relatively resistant. These findings advance theoretical debates on democratic inclusion, political membership, and the contested meaning of belonging in contemporary democracies.