Skip to main content

Martin Naunov

Assistant Professor; Faculty Associate, Institute for Policy Research

Interests

Program Area(s): Methods; American Politics

Subfield Specialties: Experimental Methods; Feminist and Gender Studies; Public Opinion, Political Communication, and Political Participation; Race, Ethnicity and Politics

Biography

Martin Naunov is a scholar of political psychology and political behavior whose research focuses on stereotyping, discrimination, and intergroup relations. He studies how people evaluate political actors—such as politicians, protesters, or plaintiffs—based on a target’s social group membership (e.g., gender, sexuality, or race) as well as the embodied markers through which that membership is often expressed. In parallel, Professor Naunov's research examines political persuasion, asking which messengers and messages are most effective at changing attitudes on contested issues such as immigration, environmental policy, and transgender rights. He also studies the political behavior of minority groups themselves, including ongoing work on sexual minority voters and the conditions under which they may express a growing willingness to support conservative parties and candidates. Methodologically, Professor Naunov specializes in experimental approaches—particularly survey experiments—and is especially interested in the use of audio-based experimental stimuli.

Professor Naunov received his Ph.D. in Political Science from UNC-Chapel Hill and his B.A. from Middlebury College. His research has been published or is forthcoming in the American Political Science Review and the Journal of Politics.

 

Selected Publications

  • Naunov, Martin. "The effect of protesters’ gender on public reactions to protests and protest repression." American Political Science Review 119, no. 1 (2025): 135-151.
  • Naunov, Martin. "The Right Kind of (Gay) Man? Sexuality, Gender Presentation, and Heteronormative Constraints on Electability." The Journal of Politics. (2025).
  • Naunov, Martin, Carlos Rueda-Cañòn, and Timothy Ryan. "Who’s Persuasive? Understanding Citizen-to-citizen Efforts to Change Minds." The Journal of Politics. (2025).