Category: Research team

Exciting news! We’re delighted to welcome Thomas Karv as the newest member of our research team! Starting in 2025, he will join us as a Project Researcher, bringing vast knowledge in political science research.

Who are you? – Thomas Karv

I am an Associate Professor in Political Science, and from January 1st, 2025, I will be on a one-year leave from my full-time position as a Senior Lecturer in Political Science at Mid Sweden University in Sundsvall, Sweden. Hence, I will spend 100% of my working hours on this project during 2025!

Current research interests also include European integration, political representation, anti-establishment attitudes and democratic innovations.

What is your role in this project?

I will conduct research related to the research aim of work package 2, together with work package leader Marina Lindell. This includes conducting a survey experiment on framing effects during the spring of 2025, which we will then use as data for producing new and exciting research related to the broader research field of affective polarization!

What do you find interesting about the research of emotions and/or affective polarization?

Even if affective polarization has been something of a “buzzword” within political science research during approximately the last five years, there are still a lot of unanswered questions to be explored. Moreover, from a societal perspective, I am quite alarmed about the broader development occurring right in front of us concerning how difficult it has become for people to understand the rationale behind other perspectives than their own, including a growing unwillingness to even try. This is most definitely a direct side-effect of social media, making it even more urgent to conduct the type of research which we are doing within this project.

What do you do in your spare time?

I have been a football player all my life, currently running around kicking and screaming on the midfield of a local fourth-division club here in Vasa, ABC. It should also be noted that I support and follow the great Manchester United Football Club to an unhealthy extent. Concerning our results the last years, it has been far from happy times at the Karv-residency.

The research project “EmoAffect” takes on the task of studying how emotional reactions drive affective polarization and focuses on which emotions that are crucial drivers. The project is funded by the Research Council of Finland and carried out at Åbo Akademi University.

Exciting News! Meet the newest addition to our research team. We’re thrilled to introduce Carl Holtti, who is joining our research team as a laboratory assistant for our upcoming second laboratory study.

Carl Holtti is a student at Åbo Akademi University. He is currently finishing his Bachelor’s thesis on the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion and its relationship to the anarchist tradition of ideas.

What is your role in this project?
My role in this project is an assisting one, contributing to the execution of our laboratory studies and aiding in data collection.

What are your research interests?
My main research interests would be studying the potential correlations between marginalized groups/identities and what are often considered “extreme” political ideologies. It is also the reason for my interest in the research of emotions, as they too play a large role in people’s political leanings.

What do you do in your spare time?
In my spare time, I mainly focus on relaxing, which for me entails listening to music, watching some video or show, playing video games, and reading. If time allows, I also like to try to stay active outside or in the gym.

The research project “EmoAffect” takes on the task of studying how emotional reactions drive affective polarization and focuses on which emotions that are crucial drivers. The project is funded by the Research Council of Finland and carried out at Åbo Akademi University.

Jesper Eklund is a project assistant at Åbo Akademi University. He is involved in opinion research and projects researching political polarization. Other research interests include the study of social trust amongst Swedish-speaking Finns.

What is your role in this project?

I act as a project assistant, which means I help with research, communication, and administrative tasks within the project. I participate in designing the studies and assisting in laboratory experiments.

What do you find interesting about the research of emotions?

I think the study of emotion or affect is an interesting area of research because it challenges the idea of the completely rational citizen. Emotions are and have always been a central part of politics. I also think we have seen a rise in the use of emotive language in politics in the last decades.

What do you do in your spare time?

I like to stay active, which usually means working out in the gym or playing football. When I’m relaxing I like playing video games, watching movies or sports, especially Formula 1.

The research project “EmoAffect” takes on the task of studying how emotional reactions drive affective polarization and focuses on which emotions that are crucial drivers. The project is funded by the Research Council of Finland and carried out at Åbo Akademi University.

Tom Carlson is a Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor in Political Science at Åbo Akademi University. His primary areas of research focus on election campaigns, political advertising, and visual politics.

What is your role in this project?

I act as a senior advisor and researcher in the first work package that deals with laboratory experimental studies within the project. I participate in designing studies and analyzing experimental data.

What do you find interesting about the research of emotions and/or affective polarization?

My background is in research of visual political communication, in particular how political actors strategically use visual imagery to appeal to emotions of target groups. The project is exciting for me as the controlled laboratory setting provides excellent opportunities to study actual emotional reactions of such stimuli and to explore the interplay of emotions and cognitive processing.

What do you do in your spare time?

I really enjoy reading fiction. At the moment, Knausgård’s latest novel engulfs me. I am obsessed with studying and listening to rock music. I play my precious electric guitar whenever I can.

The research project “EmoAffect” takes on the task of studying how emotional reactions drive affective polarization and focuses on which emotions that are crucial drivers. The project is funded by the Research Council of Finland and carried out at Åbo Akademi University.

Marina Lindell is an Academy of Finland Research Fellow 2022-2027. Her project is titled “Re-thinking opinion change: the role of framing, communication dynamics and personality”. The project scrutinises attitudinal and knowledge change in different experimental settings – depending on the framing of issues and group composition, communicative dynamics (speaking/acting/listening) and personality traits. Besides this she is managing a project on societal polarization, chairing the ECPR Standing Group on Democratic Innovations and is an Assistant Editor for the Journal of Deliberative Democracy.

What is your role in this project?

I am the leader of work package two which is focusing on large scale survey experiments in order to test the same stimuli treatments used in the lab experiments. By using survey experiments we will gain further knowledge on emotional reactions and the mediating/moderating role of individual-level variables such as partisan and social identity, personality and attitudes. I have vast knowledge on survey research and is the manager for the Barometer panel used in the project. Hence, my main role is to design survey experiments, analyse data and write articles together with the team.

What do you find interesting about the research of emotions and/or affective polarization?

My Academy of Finland project focus on the role of framing for opinion change. This is closely connected to both emotions and affective polarization since framing of messages can have a large impact on how we react and how opinions are formed. I am also interested in how misinformation and fake news affect opinions and political behavior, including the effect on affective polarization.

What do you do in your spare time?

I have two active teenagers, including a 14 year old playing ice hockey in Vasa Sport and a 17 year old doing synchronised skating. I spend a large time of my spare time in the ice-hockey arena and I enjoy almost every moment of it. I also enjoy spending time at the gym and whenever I find time in between it all I play Candy Crush, watch True Crime series online or read a book.

The research project “EmoAffect” takes on the task of studying how emotional reactions drive affective polarization and focuses on which emotions that are crucial drivers. The project is funded by the Research Council of Finland and carried out at Åbo Akademi University.

Meet Jenny Lindholm, an esteemed university lecturer in Political Science with Media and Communication at Åbo Akademi University. With a keen interest in visual political communication and civic technology, my latest research endeavors have been focused on the intricate subject of emotions.

What is your role in this project?

As the leader of the project’s first work package, The Lab Experiments, I play a critical role in designing studies, collecting data, and analyzing results to produce insightful articles. My extensive experience in combining lab research with political science makes me a valuable asset to the project.

What do you find interesting about the research of emotions?

My passion for understanding emotions was sparked during my doctoral studies. As I delved into the impact of various crises on society, I realized the significant role emotions play in political communication. My first laboratory study on citizens’ reactions to crisis news propelled me into a fascination with emotions and their measurement.

What do you do in your spare time?

I live in a really big, old house that used to be a school. Fixing up the house, and the garden, and trying to creatively design the inside to work for a family of four is the fun part of my everyday life (and a good contrast to academic life).

The research project “EmoAffect” takes on the task of studying how emotional reactions drive affective polarization and focuses on which emotions that are crucial drivers. The project is funded by the Research Council of Finland and carried out at Åbo Akademi University.

It is time to present the research team for EmoAffect. First up is Kim Strandberg.

Who are you? – Kim Strandberg

Professor in political science, especially political communication. Research interests include democratic innovations, social media and politics, affective polarization, survey- and experimental methods.

What is your role in this project?

I’m the so-called principal investigator which is basically the project leader. I keep an eye on how the research in the work packages is going and I ensure that we are staying on track in terms of both time schedule and focus points.

What do you find interesting about the research of emotions and/or affective polarization?

I think it has become obvious, for instance during the Trump era, how emotions can be harnessed to achieve political goals. Emotions are also part of basic human instincts which make them extra important to understand in relation to phenomena that are affecting how societies function, such as affective polarization. For me, emotions are also a new area of study which makes it extra interesting.

What do you do in your spare time?

I actively support Liverpool F.C., Vaasan Palloseura and Vaasan Sport. I’m into sports’ fan culture generally. My other hobbies include playing Magic: the Gathering and spending time on YouTube (far too many hours per day).

The research project “EmoAffect” takes on the task of studying how emotional reactions drive affective polarization and focuses on which emotions that are crucial drivers. The project is funded by the Research Council of Finland and carried out at Åbo Akademi University.