Roberta Sigel Best Conference Paper by Early Career Member Award

The Sigel Award is given to early career scholar authors of the best papers (or papers accepted as posters) presented at annual scientific meetings. Nominees must be current ISPP members.

ISPP first announced this award at its Vancouver meeting in 1996. Professor Sigel, whom the award honors, has been a distinguished professor of political science at Rutgers University since 1973. She is author and editor of seven books and many articles and book chapters, mostly in the areas of political socialization and democratic citizenship. She has had many leadership roles in the American Political Science Association and has served as program chair, Vice-President and President of ISPP.

Early Career Scholars who are currently dues paid members of ISPP and have had their paper or poster accepted for the most recent Annual Meeting are eligible to be considered for the award. Early Career Scholars are defined as graduate or undergraduate students and faculty who received their Ph.D. within the last eight years. The paper (or poster) can be a manuscript, in the review process, or published online (early view or equivalent) or in print at the earliest the year of the annual meeting (that is, published in 2014 for the 2014 Sigel Award handed out in 2015).

There are two prizes with slightly different criteria to accommodate the authorship and publication practices in the various disciplines represented in ISPP:

The first award will be given to the best paper (or poster) written by Early Career Scholars only. In the case of multiple authors, all co-authors must be Early Career Scholars. The second award will be conferred to the best paper (or poster) with an Early Career Scholar first author. This award allows, but does not require, non-Early Career Scholar co-authors.

Only papers (or posters) by current (dues paid for this year) ISPP members are eligible for consideration.

How to Nominate:

Nominees must be current ISPP members and Early Career Scholars. Early Career Scholars are all students (graduate or undergraduate) and faculty who received their Ph.D. within the last eight years. All nominations must include the following: The early career scholar’s paper (or poster) accepted for the most recent July meeting/conference, and a CV of the nominee. To complete a nomination, simply send these materials to the Committee Chair by the deadline.

The award recipient will be strongly encouraged to attend the Annual Meeting and Awards Reception.

2024 Award Committee:

Chairs: Shelley McKeown Jones, Univ. of Bristol (Early Career Scholars authors only); Email

Sammyh Khan, Örebro University (Early Career Scholar first author); Email

Committee: Ying-Yi Hong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Thomas Craemer, University of Connecticut

THE NOMINATION PROCESS FOR 2024 is CLOSED. The deadline for nominations was extended to 15 February 2024.

Winners will be notified by early April 2024.

First awarded in 1998.

Current Winners

Roberta Sigel Best Conference Paper by Early Career Member Award 1
Nicholas Haas, Aarhus University and Emmy Lindstam, University Of Mannheim
“My History or Our History? Historical Revisionism and Entitlement to Lead”

Nicholas Haas and Emma Lindstam’s research offers an innovative perspective on the impact of inclusive versus exclusive representations of a nation's history on marginalized groups. Focusing on India as their test case, the authors conducted experimental studies to examine how historical narratives shaped by religious identity (Hindu versus Muslim) influence individual’s perceptions of their centrality to the nation, their sense of authorization to speak on its behalf, and their potential for leadership roles. The results revealed that exposure to inclusive historical narratives significantly increased the perceived centrality of Muslim participants to the nation, their entitlement to represent India, and their willingness to take on leadership responsibilities. This compelling empirical evidence underscores the far-reaching implications of historical debates, demonstrating that they extend beyond cultural clashes to profoundly impact inclusivity and representation in diverse societies. Haas’s and Lindstam's work is a critical contribution to understanding the power of historical narratives in shaping modern societies.

Roberta Sigel Best Conference Paper by Early Career Member Award 2 (for best paper with an Early Career Scholar as lead author)
Jasper Van Assche, Ghent University/ Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
“Intergroup Contact is Reliably Associated with Reduced Prejudice Even in the Face of Group Threat and Discrimination”

Jasper Van Assche's extensive research delves into the role of intergroup contact as a means to combat prejudice in the midst of intergroup conflict. While intergroup contact has been advocated by social and political psychologists, skepticism remains regarding its efficacy in situations where dominant groups perceive a threat to their position, and disadvantaged groups experience discrimination. Addressing this critical gap in the literature, Van Assche and his team conducted a far-reaching meta-analysis, examining data from 34 studies across 19 countries. The results are nothing short of significant, as they demonstrate that intergroup contact effectively reduces prejudice, even among dominant-group members facing perceived threats and disadvantaged groups experiencing discrimination. Remarkably, the positive effects of contact hold true both in WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) and non-WEIRD contexts. By confirming the potency of intergroup contact, even under the most challenging conditions, Van Assche and colleagues' findings provide valuable insights that address a major theoretical concern about the limits of contact as a strategy for reducing prejudice.

Past Winners

  • 2023 Nicholas Haas & Emmy Lindstam; Jasper Van Assche (first author)
  • 2022 Allison Anoll & Andrew Engelhardt; Bjarki Gronfeldt
  • 2021 Hui Bai (single author); Ryan Shandler (first author)
  • 2020 Eunji Kim (single author); Not Awarded (first author)
  • 2019 Carly N. Wayne; Arnold Ho
  • 2018 Cecilia Hyunjung Mo and Katharine Conn; Aharon Levy
  • 2017 Nour Kteily & Emile Bruneau; Sandra Penic
  • 2016 Rebecca Schiel & Gary Smith; Rezarta Bilali
  • 2015 Yphtach Lelkes & Sean J. Westwood; Jojanneke van der Toorn with Matthew Feinberg, John Jost, Aaron Kay, Tom Tyler, Robb Willer, and Caroline Wilmuth
  • 2014 Cecil Meeusen; Smadar Cohen-Chen with Richard J. Crisp and Eran Halperin
  • 2013 Michael Bang Petersen & Lasse Laustsen
  • 2012 Rune Slothuus; Scott Clifford, Jennifer Jerit, and Jason Barabas
  • 2011 Melinda Jackson; Erin Hennes with John Jost and Irina Feygina
  • 2010 Thomas Craemer, Pete Hatemi and Rose McDermott
  • 2009 Jason Barabas and Jennifer Jerit (abstract); Margarita Krochik (abstract)
  • 2008 Eric Dickson (paper abstract); Elizabeth Suhay
  • 2007 Christopher Federico
  • 2006 Daphna Canetti-Nisim; Rajiv Jhangiani and Peter Suedfeld
  • 2005 Romain Lachat
  • 2004 James N. Druckman, Kjersten R. Nelson
  • 2003 Celeste Lay
  • 2002 Not Awarded
  • 2001 David Redlawsk
  • 2000 James Druckman, Michael Allen, Sik Hung Ng
  • 1999 Not Awarded
  • 1998 Kristin Hall Maher, David Redlawsk

Abstracts of award winners:

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