Client or Primary Investigator: Simal Gerot Doctoral Candidate, Department of Political Science

Project Manager: Cassidy Branch

Project Start: March 23, 2026

Project Description: The purpose of this study is to examine how people’s daily political news consumption habits—both in terms of frequency (how often they consume news) and automaticity (whether they engage with news out of habit or without thinking)—affect their mental health, particularly stress, anxiety, and sleep quality. Political news is often emotionally charged and crisis-driven, leading many people to check the news repeatedly throughout the day, sometimes unconsciously. Although previous political science research has linked political news exposure to psychological distress, many studies have primarily focused on general exposure rather than examining habitual patterns in detail. Additionally, they often measure news habits using surveys that emphasize frequency and generic mental health questions. These methods may oversimplify complex news habits and miss real-time emotional responses.

Services Provided: Web panel survey, IRB support, Survey Programming & Testing