Kristen Brock-Petroshius

Assistant Professor of Social Welfare, Stony Brook University

Areas of Expertise:

Connect with Kristen

@4heartsnminds.bsky.social

About Kristen

Brock-Petroshius' research focuses on interventions that strengthen democracy and build support for policies that advance racial, economic, and social justice. She is particularly interested in how community organizing tactics and message frames can effect attitude change in a pro-equity direction.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | Member Spotlight | In the News | Publications

Contributions

Discussing Race & Identity Doesn’t Have to Result in Backlash

Key Findings Brief, February 2026

Publications

"Can Deep Canvassing Promote Anti-Carceral Attitudes? A Field Experiment" (with Martin Gilens). Journal of Social Issues 81, no. 2 (2025).

Reports on a real-world experiment where intensive, in-depth conversations were used to see if people could be persuaded to support reducing reliance on jails and prisons. Found that these deep canvassing talks did increase support for anti-carceral policies in the short term (about a week afterward), suggesting this method can shift views on criminal justice, though the effects faded over time.

"Race- and Class-Based Messaging and Anti-Carceral Policy Support" (with Martin Gilens). Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics (2025).

Reports on a survey experiment showing that messages about reducing reliance on jails and prisons are more effective when they talk about both racial and economic inequality together rather than just one or the other. Also finds that how people react to these messages depends on their own racial identity, feelings about race, and personal experience with the criminal legal system, suggesting that the way these issues are framed matters for building support for anti-carceral policies.