Amanda Friesen

Associate Professor
Canada Research Chair in Political Psychology (Tier 2)
Director, The Body Politics Lab

Amanda Friesen Banner

PhD, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Telephone: 519.661.2111 X 88106
E-mail: afries4@uwo.ca
Office: Social Science Centre 7245


Research Interests

Professor Friesen is interested in how social identities and individual dispositions interact with social and political contexts, particularly as it pertains to resilience and efficacy. Her methodological approaches draw from behaviour genetics, psychophysiology, personality psychology, experimental design, and other social and life science methods.


Selected Publications

Refereed Journal Articles

  • Friesen, Amanda, Aleksander Ksiazkiewicz, and Rose McDermott. 2022. “Science in Politics: Methodological Innovations and Political Issues.” Forthcoming in Politics and the Life Sciences.
  • Gothreau, Claire, Amanda Milena Alvarez, and Amanda Friesen. “Objectified and Dehumanized: Does Objectification Impact Perceptions of Women Political Candidates?” Forthcoming in Journal for Experimental Political Science.
  • Gothreau, Claire, Kevin Arceneaux, and Amanda Friesen. 2022. “Hostile, Benevolent, Implicit: How Different Shades of Sexism Impact Gendered Policy Attitudes.” Frontiers in Political Science.Friesen, Amanda, and Mirya Holman. 2022. “Racial Limitations on the Gender, Risk, Religion & Politics Model.” Politics & Religion. 15 (2): 270-290.
  • Friesen, Amanda, Aleksander Ksiazkiewicz, and Claire Gothreau. 2021. “Political Taste: Exploring How Perception of Bitter Substances May Reveal Risk Tolerance and Political Preferences.” Politics and the Life Sciences. 40 (2): 152-171. Registered Report
  • Forthcoming. Friesen, Amanda, and Mirya Holman. “Racial Limitations on the Gender, Risk, Religion & Politics Model.” Forthcoming in Politics & Religion.
  • Forthcoming. Friesen, Amanda, Aleksander Ksiazkiewicz, and Claire Gothreau. “Political Taste: Exploring How Perception of Bitter Substances May Reveal Risk Tolerance and Political Preferences.” Forthcoming in Politics and the Life Sciences. Registered Report.
  • 2021. Hunt, Kate, and Amanda Friesen. Online First. “‘You Can’t Repeal Regret’: Targeting Men for Mobilization in Ireland’s Abortion Debate.” European Journal of Politics & Gender.
  • 2021. Friesen, Amanda, Ryan Burge, and Kylee Britzman. “Digital Segregation: Gender, Occupation, and Access to Politics.” Social Science Computer Review 39 (1): 38-55.
  • 2021. Ksiazkiewicz, Aleksander, and Amanda Friesen. “The Higher Power of Religiosity over Personality on Political Ideology.” Political Behavior 43: 637-661.
  • 2020. Ksiazkiewicz, Aleksander, and Amanda Friesen. “Slimy Worms or Sticky Kids: How Caregiving Tasks and Gender Identity Attenuate Disgust Response.” Politics and the Life Sciences. 39 (2): 167-186. Registered Report.
  • 2020. Friesen, Amanda, Michael W. Gruszczynski, John Alford, and Kevin B. Smith. “Political Orientations Vary with Detection of Androstenone.” Politics and the Life Sciences. 39 (1): 26-37.
  • 2019. Friesen, Amanda. “Generational Change? The Effects of Family, Age and Time on Moral Foundations.” The Forum: A Journal of Applied Research in Contemporary Politics. 17 (1): 121-140.
  • 2017. Friesen, Amanda, Kevin B. Smith, and John R. Hibbing. “Physiological Arousal and Self-Reported Valence for Erotic Images Correlate with Sexual Policy Preferences.” International Journal of Public Opinion Research. 29 (3): 449-470.
  • 2017. Friesen, Amanda, and Paul A. Djupe. “Conscientious Women: The Dispositional Conditions of Institutional Treatment on Civic Involvement.” Politics & Gender. 13 (1): 57-80.

Book Chapters

  • 2021. Wagner, Michael W., and Amanda Friesen. “The Consequences of Denominational Typicality on Individual Political Attitudes.” Exploring the Public Effects of Religious Communication on Politics. Brian Calfano, editor. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
  • 2019. Friesen, Amanda. 2019. “Personality, Politics, and Religion.” In Oxford Encyclopedia of Politics & Religion, Paul A. Djupe and Mark Rozell, eds. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.824.
  • 2017. Ksiazkiewicz, Aleksander, and Amanda Friesen. “Genes and Politics,” in the Handbook of Biology and Politics. Steven A. Peterson and Albert Somit (eds.), Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. 85-105.

Awards, Grants, and Distinctions

  • 2021 Honorable Mention, APSA Ted Jelen Best Journal Article in Politics & Religion
  • 2021 Templeton World Charity Foundation, Grand Challenges for Human Flourishing, Project Finalist
  • 2021 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Connection Grant
  • 2020 Special Issue Funding, Politics and the Life Sciences
  • 2019 Diverse Europe Theme Group Visiting Scholar, Amsterdam Centre for European Studies
  • 2019 Erasmus Mundus EuroCulture Faculty Exchange Scholarship
  • 2018 American Political Science Association Best Conference Paper Award, Political Networks Section