Gavin Ploger, Ph.D.

Gavin Ploger studies political communication and political psychology in the United States. He primarily explores perceptions of political polarization, partisan identity, and news representations of politics. His other research examines political learning and psychophysiology.

Gavin Ploger is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Polarization Research Lab at the Annenberg School for Communication. He studies political communication, political psychology, and public opinion, examining how both traditional and digital media shape the public’s (mis)understandings of the political environment in the United States. In his dissertation research, he investigated how and why people come to think of politics as inherently polarized, particularly focusing on the role of news media and social identity in shaping this perception and its consequences. His other research examines how people engage with the contemporary political information environment and the implications of these choices for political knowledge and attitudes.

Before coming to Annenberg, Ploger received a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Michigan and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Montana, Missoula. In his free time, Ploger enjoys video games, playing with his cat, and learning (slowly and painfully) to skateboard.