This episode of Speaking of Psychology was recorded on October 1st.

Although it is not yet November, the 2020 elections have effectively begun.

Election officials are seeing a surge of early and mail-in ballots around the country,

and lots of other voters will head to the polls on November 3rd to vote in person.

Many Americans see this as the most consequential election in recent American history.

Amid the backdrop of a pandemic, a season of racial unrest, a suddenly open Supreme Court

seat and months of natural disasters fueled by climate change, what will shape voters' decisions

this year?

What are the psychological forces at play when people decide to vote and whom to vote for?

Welcome to Speaking of Psychology, the flagship podcast of the American Psychological Association

that explores the connections between psychological science and everyday life.

I'm Kim Mills. Our guest today is Dr. John Krosnick, a social psychologist who directs the political psychology

research group at Stanford University.

He has spent 30 years studying Americans' political attitudes, what drives them to turn out

for elections, and how their political attitudes shape their voting choices.

In recent years, he's had a particular interest in climate change attitudes, which Americans say

is one of the most critical issues we are facing. Welcome to Speaking of Psychology, Dr. Krosnick.

Thank you so much for having me. It's the pleasure to be here. Right now, polls are showing

Joe Biden ahead of Donald Trump in many battleground states.

You've done research on polling and survey methodology. How seriously should voters take these polls

right now? Well, it's a wonderful question, and it's one that I'm very glad that the country is

interested in. Unfortunately, a memory many people have about the polls is that in 2016, many people

...