Scott Matthews
Associate Professor & Graduate Cooridinator
SN-2032
Department of Political Science, Science Building
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NL A1B 3X9 Canada
Phone: (709) 864-3093
Email: scott[dot]matthews[at]mun[dot]ca
Website: http://sites.google.com/site/profjscottmatthews/
Academics
B.A., M.A. (Simon Fraser); Ph.D. (UBC)
Areas for Student Research Supervision
- Elections, public opinion and voting behaviour
- Political psychology
- Political parties
- Parties and elections in the U.S. and Canada
Examples of Recent Courses Taught
- Political Behaviour
- Public Opinion
Bio
Scott Matthews specializes in the study of elections, voting and public opinion in the United States and Canada. While he has written on diverse topics, at present, Matthews is especially interested in intersections between political behaviour and the social psychology of persuasion.
Matthews' previous research topics include voter turnout, public opinion on social policy, and political learning during election campaigns. More recently, he has been focused on two primary research topics: time-discounting in public opinion and the impact of polls on electoral democracy. Among other things, Matthews is currently engaged in on-going experimental studies concerning (a.) the influence of political uncertainty on citizen support for policy trade-offs (i.e., policies involving an exchange of salient costs for salient benefits) and (b.) the effect of exposure to poll information on voting preferences. For more information on this research, see Matthews' website .
Matthews is also the Director of the Canadian Opinion Research Archive http://www.queensu.ca/cora/ (CORA) in the School of Policy Studies, Queens University at Kingston. Prior to his arrival at MUN in July, 2012, Matthews was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Studies at Queen's University at Kingston.
Select Publications
Articles
J. Scott Matthews, Mark Pickup, and Fred Cutler. 2012. ‘The Mediated Horserace: Campaign Polls and Poll Reporting.’ Canadian Journal of Political Science 45-2: 261-287.
Alan Jacobs and J. Scott Matthews. 2012. ‘Why Do Citizens Discount the Future? Public Opinion and the Timing of Policy Consequences.’ British Journal of Political Science. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0007123412000117, Published online by Cambridge University Press 10 May 2012. (Print version to appear in October, 2012.)
Mark Pickup, J. Scott Matthews, Will Jennings, Robert Ford, and Stephen Fisher. 2011. 'Why did the polls overestimate Lib Dem support? Sources of Polling Error in the 2010 British General Election.' Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties 21-2: 179-209.
J. Scott Matthews and Richard Johnston. 2010. 'The Campaign Dynamics of Economic Voting.' Electoral Studies 29: 13-24.
J. Scott Matthews and Lynda Erickson. 2008. 'Welfare State Structures and the Structure of Welfare State Support: Attitudes Towards Social Spending in Canada, 1993-2000.' European Journal of Political Research 47: 411-435.
Richard Johnston, J. Scott Matthews and Amanda Bittner. 2007. 'Turnout and the Party System in Canada, 1988-2004.' Electoral Studies 26: 735-745.
J. Scott Matthews. 2005. 'The Political Foundations of Support for Same-Sex Marriage in Canada.' Canadian Journal of Political Science 38-4: 841-866.
J. Scott Matthews and Lynda Erickson. 2005. 'Public Opinion and Social Citizenship in Canada.' Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology 42-4: 373-401.
Fred Cutler and J. Scott Matthews. 2005. 'The Challenge of Municipal Voting: Vancouver 2002.' Canadian Journal of Political Science 38-2: 359-383.
Chapters (peer-reviewed)
Allison Harell, Dimitrios Panagos, and J. Scott Matthews. 2011. 'Explaining Aboriginal Turnout in Canada.' In Aboriginal Policy Research, Volume 10: Research Methods, Justice, Governance and Politics, eds. Jerry White, Julie Peters, Dan Beavon and Peter Dinsdale. Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing.
J. Scott Matthews. 2010. 'Enlightenment, Equalization or What? Campaigns, Learning and the Economy in Canadian Elections.' In Perspectives on the Canadian Voter: Puzzles of Influence and Choice, edited by Laura Stephenson and Cameron Anderson. Vancouver: UBC Press.
