
Welcome! I am Xiaoxiao Shen, a PhD candidate in the Department of Politics at Princeton University. My research interests span from comparative political behavior, political psychology, and authoritarian politics to quantitative methods. My specific focus is on understanding citizens’ political attitudes and behaviors in authoritarian countries through the lens of psychology.
I obtained a B.Sc in Mathematics with Statistics from Imperial College London and an M.Phil in Social Science from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. My work has appeared in British Journal of Political Science, Governance, and World Development.
RESEARCH
PUBLISHED PAPERS
- Yang, Wenhui, and Xiaoxiao Shen. ”Can Social Welfare Buy Mass Loyalty? Evidence from China”. Governance (2020). Read here
- Shen, Xiaoxiao, and Rory Truex. ”In Search of Self-Censorship”. British Journal of Political Science (2020). Read here
- Shen, Xiaoxiao, and Kellee S. Tsai. ” Institutional Adaptability in China: Local Developmental Models under Changing Economic Conditions ” . World Development 87 (2016). Read here
WORKING PAPERS

“ The Role of Psychological Needs in Understanding Heterogeneous Propaganda Effects ”, Dissertation Book Project in Progress.

“ The Characteristics of Chinese Psychological Needs and Their Correlations to Political Attitudes ”, Read here

“ The Effects of Forced Versus Selective Propaganda Exposure in China ”, Read here

“ When Propaganda Resonates”, Read here

“ Introducing ReChat: A Tool for Studying Online Interpersonal Communication ”, with Will Schulz.

“ When Does Self-Interest Trump Ideology in Authoritarian Regimes? ”, with Dongshu Liu. Read here

“ Propaganda for Hearts in Autocracy ”, with Jung Chen. Read here

“ Measuring Populism: Evidence from China ”, with Jiehan Liu. Read here

“ Political Knowledge as a Moderator of Partisan Motivated Reasoning: A Meta-Analysis ”, with Jiehan Liu.

“ Chinese Propaganda System and Strategies ”, with Jiehan Liu.

“ Evaluating the Effectiveness of Singapore Government’s Anti-Misinformation Strategies ”, with Qingyan Wang.
SOFTWARE
ReChat : An integrated and interactive chat tool that allows you to administer, monitor, and analyze live conversations. URL: https://reso.chat/
Xiaoxiao Shen. Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 63/210,303; Princeton Docket No. 21-3825-1 (June 2021).
Xiaoxiao Shen. Permanent U.S. Patent Application filed, No. 17/839, 621 (June 2022).
TEACHING
CURRENT TEACHING

Chinese Politics
Spring 2021
Head Preceptor, Teaching Assistant, Princeton University

Quantitative Social Science
Fall / Spring 2020
Head Preceptor, Teaching Assistant, Princeton University

Comparative Politics
Spring 2019/2020
Teaching Assistant, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
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