Sonia Yanovsky

I am a PhD candidate in Social Psychology at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. My research focus is on political extremism and authoritarianism.

I first discovered my love for social psychology research while I was getting my B.S. in psychology at the University of West Florida. I pursued political psychology at Stony Brook University (M.S. in political science, 2022) and realized there are still some unanswered questions about the conceptualization and measurement of psychological authoritarianism. From there, I went to Rutgers University to be advised by Lee Jussim, social scientist extraordinaire. I received my M.S. in social psychology in 2025, and continue to conduct research on authoritarianism and other forms of political extremism.

I frequently conduct research with the Network Contagion Research Institute, and our work has been featured in such outlets as The New York Times, The Free Press, and Bloomberg.

I enjoy teaching and mentoring students, especially when helping them engage thoughtfully and critically with scientific research. I emphasize that science is not a fixed body of unquestionable facts, but a provisional and probabilistic process that requires continual evaluation, replication, and refinement, as well as careful scrutiny of the methodological weaknesses and ideological biases that can shape research questions, methods, and conclusions. Ultimately, this philosophy guides my own research.