Sean Stevens
Sean, a native of New Jersey, obtained his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey – New Brunswick in 2013. From 2013 to 2016, he continued to work at Rutgers University, first as the Research Director of the and then as a Postdoctoral Fellow, also in affiliation with the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. In 2016, Sean became first Director of Research where he developed the . In 2020, Sean joined FIREas a Senior Research Fellow in Polling and Analytics. For almost two decades, Sean's research has focused on understanding how moral convictions produce motivated reasoning within the political domain, how this motivated reasoning can distort research in the social sciences, and how motivated reasoning can lead to political intolerance and create obstacles to political compromise. More recently, he has begun investigating the psychological factors that motivate support for censorship and self-censorship. Sean is also a member of the , and he works to promote scientific integrity practices in the social sciences.
Recent Writings
- A year in campus speech controversies — What does the data reveal?,
- Free speech and football: ÃÛÖÏãÌÒ's college football matchup of the week is Mizzou v. Texas A&M,
- Free speech and football: ÃÛÖÏãÌÒ's NCAA matchup of the week is UGA v. Alabama,
- Columbia, NYU join Harvard at bottom of 2025 College Free Speech Rankings,
- New FIREpoll shows partisanship drives perception of campus encampment protests,
- Majority of college students support Israel/Gaza campus protests, 1 in 10 actually participate in them,
- Survey shows: Most Americans are concerned about the future of free speech,
- FIRE survey shows Judge Duncan shoutdown had ‘chilling effect’ on Stanford students,
- Deplatforming attempts are surging in 2024,
- College students defend speech and incitement — when it benefits them,
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