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Kay Hales
Ph.D. Candidate
Teaching Assistant

I am a fourth-year PhD Candidate in the Department of Political Science. My research focuses on identity politics, political psychology and behavior, and political sociology. Specifically, I am interested in the experiential, cognitive, and affective components of intra-group dynamics.

My dissertation specifically investigates LGBTQ people's sense of linked fate as a way to broaden our understanding of this concept and expand its theoretical framework.  I use a combination of survey, phenomenological, and psychometric techniques to explore (1) how LGBTQ people experience a sense of linked fate, (2) the experiential and affective mechanisms driving LGBTQ people's sense of linked fate, and (3) develop a novel, multidimensional measure to assess LGBTQ people's sense of linked fate. 

In addition to my dissertation, my other current projects investigate how constituent-level identity (including White identity) shapes state and local elites' legislative behavior, and 'manosphere' socialization.

Contact Information
kayhales@uky.edu
1602 POT
Education
BA Political Science and History, Louisiana Tech University, 2020

MA Political Science, University of Kentucky, 2023
Research Interests
  • Political psychology
  • Identity Politics
  • Gender and Sexuality
  • Political behavior
  • Political Sociology
Affiliations
  • Political Science
  • Gender and Women's Studies