Joseph S. Mernyk

Joseph S. Mernyk is a PhD student in sociology at Stanford University, where he studies the social psychological barriers that limit cooperation across political divides and tests scalable methods to overcome them. His current work spans three areas: developing and evaluating nonpartisan AI voter guides, mapping belief systems underlying divisive issues to identify leverage points for attitude and behavior change, and improving training for high-stakes decision makers using AI simulations. He is a recipient of the Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellowship, the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society PhD Fellowship, and the Stanford Impact Labs PhD Fellowship.

PhD Fellowship Project

Increasing SNAP enrollment: Social safety net programs can improve the wellbeing of people experiencing poverty, but many of those who are eligible do not enroll. One important reason this problem persists is the stigma associated with enrollment. In collaboration with Code for America, Joe will develop and test ways to reduce the stigma associated with applying for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits to increase enrollment among eligible individuals in California.

Department: Sociology

Faculty Mentor: Robb Willer, Professor of Sociology