Professor Peter Dinesen

Professor of Political Science
Room: 2.04, 36-38 Gordon Square
Email: p.dinesen@ucl.ac.uk
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Biography

I am a Professor of Political Science at UCL. I obtained my PhD in Political Science at Aarhus University (2011). After working at the University of Southern Denmark (2010-2011), I worked at the University of Copenhagen, where I maintain an affiliation.

Research

My research focuses on how individuals form beliefs and attitudes about other people, politics and society at large. 

My primary topic of interest has been generalised social trust – trust in unknown others - which is often considered “the social glue” that binds people together, enabling them to cooperate with positive downstream consequences for individuals and societies. In my work, I have tried to understand the causes of social trust; specifically the role of immigration and state institutions. 

Other lines of my work explore the sources of anti-immigrant/immigration sentiments and behaviors among the native-born, both in mass publics and among elected officials, and examine how political engagement is shaped by sociodemographic factors, personal experiences and personality traits.

In have also scrutinized the consequences of terrorism for both democratic citizenship (institutional trust and support for civil liberties) as well as mental health (e.g. diagnoses of mental disorders), and in previous work I have demonstrated how local economic signals (unemployment and housing prices) shape voting behavior and its anteceding perceptions. In an ongoing project, I examine a range of potential consequences of local economic inequality.

Publications

Book chapters

• Dinesen, P. T. and Sønderskov, K. M. (2021) ‘Quality of Government and Social Trust’, in A. Bågenholm, M. Bauhr, M. Grimes and B. Rothstein (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of the Quality of Government. Oxford University Press: Oxford, pp. 539–558.
• Dinesen, P. T., Slothuus, R. and Stubager, R. (2020) ‘Danish Public Opinion: Stability, Change, and Polarization’, in P. M. Christiansen), J. Elklit and P. Nedergaard (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Danish Politics. Oxford University Press: Oxford, pp. 259–277.
• Dinesen, P. T. and Hjorth, F. (2020) ‘Attitudes toward Immigration: Theories, Settings, and Approaches’, in A. Mintz and L. G. Terris (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Political Science. Oxford University Press: Oxford.
• Dinesen, P. T. and Sønderskov, K. M. (2018) ‘Cultural Persistence or Experiential Adaptation?’, in E. M. Uslaner (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Social and Political Trust. Oxford University Press: Oxford, pp. 205–229.
• Dinesen, P. T. and Sønderskov, K. M. (2018) ‘Ethnic Diversity and Social Trust: A Critical Review of the Literature and Suggestions for a Research Agenda’, in E. M. Uslaner (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Social and Political Trust. Oxford University Press: Oxford, pp. 175–204.
• Dinesen, P. T. and Bekkers, R. (2017) ‘The Foundations of Individuals’ Generalized Social Trust: A Review’, in P. A. M. Van Lange, B. Rockenbach and T. Yamagishi (eds.) Trust in Social Dilemmas. Oxford University Press: Oxford, pp. 77–99.
• Andersen, R. F. and Dinesen, P. T. (2017) ‘Social Capital in the Scandinavian Countries’, in P. Nedergaard and A. Wivel (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Scandinavian Politics. Routledge: London.

Journal articles

2022

• Sonderskov, K. M., Vistisen, H. T., Dinesen, P. T. and Ostergaard, S. D. (2022) ‘A Positive Update on Covid-19 Booster Vaccine Willingness among Danes’, Danish Medical Journal, 69(2).
• Heide-Jorgensen, T., Dinesen, P. T. and Sonderskov, K. M. (2022) ‘Personality and Roots of Welfare State Support: How Openness to Experience Moderates the Influence of Self-Interest and Ideology on Redistributive Preferences’, Political Behavior.
• Schuessler, J., Dinesen, P. T., Ostergaard, S. D. and Sonderskov, K. M. (2022) ‘Public Support for Unequal Treatment of Unvaccinated Citizens: Evidence from Denmark’, Social Science & Medicine, 305.
• Hansen, C. N. and Dinesen, P. T. (2022) ‘Terrorism Activates Ethnocentrism to Explain Greater Willingness to Sacrifice Civil Liberties: Evidence from Germany’, Political Science Research and Methods, 11(2), pp. 402–409.
• Dinesen, P. T. and Andersen, R. F. (2022) ‘The (Re)socialization of Participatory Political Culture: Immigrants? Political Participation between their Contemporary Country and their Ancestral Country’, Political Geography, 98.
• Vistisen, H. T., Sønderskov, K. M., Dinesen, P. T., Brund, R. B. K., Nielsen, R. O., Østergaard, S. D. (2022) ‘Running on Empty: a Longitudinal Global Study of Psychological Well-being among Runners during the COVID-19 Pandemic’, BMJ Open, 12(9).
• Sønderskov, K. M., Dinesen, P. T., Finkel, S. and Hansen, K. M. (2022) ‘Crime Victimization Increases Turnout: Evidence from Individual-Level Administrative Panel Data’, British Journal of Political Science, 52(1), pp. 399–407.
• Jefsen, O. H, Kølbæk, P., Gil, Y., Speed, M., Dinesen, P. T., Sønderskov, K. M. and Østergaard, S. D. (2022) ‘COVID-19 Vaccine Willingness among Patients with Mental Illness Compared with the General Population’, Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 34(2), pp. 107.
• Dinesen, P. T., Sønderskov, K. M., Sohlberg, J., and Esaiasson, P. (2022) ‘Close (Causally Connected) Cousins? Evidence on the Causal Relationship between Political Trust and Social Trust’, Public Opinion Quarterly, 86(3), pp. 708–721.

2021

• Dinesen, P. T., Dahl, M. and Schiøler, M. (2021) ‘When are Legislators Responsive to Ethnic Minorities? Testing the Role of Electoral Incentives and Candidate Selection for Mitigating Ethnocentric Responsiveness’, American Political Science Review, 115(2), pp. 450–466.
• Sønderskov, K. M., Dinesen, P. T., Hansen, B. T., Østergaard, S. D. and Danckert, B. (2021) ‘Terrorism in the Country of Origin is Linked to Deterioration in the Mental Health of Refugees’, Nature Human Behaviour, 5, pp. 1555–1561.
• Vistisen, H. T., Sønderskov, K. M., Dinesen, P. T. and Østergaard, S. D. (2021) ‘Psychological Well-being and Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety across Age Groups during the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Denmark’, Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 33(6), pp. 331–334.
• Sønderskov, K. M., Dinesen, P. T., Vistisen, H. T. and Østergaard, S. D. (2021) ‘Variation in Psychological Well-being and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results from a Three-wave Panel Survey’, Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 33(3), pp. 156–159.
• Sønderskov, K. M., Dinesen, P. T., and Østergaard, S. D. (2021) ‘Sustained COVID-19 Vaccine Willingness after Safety Concerns over the Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine’, Danish Medical Journal, 68(5).

2020

• Dinesen, P. T., Schaeffer, M. and Sønderskov, K. M. (2020) ‘Ethnic Diversity and Social Trust: A Narrative and Meta-Analytical Review’, Annual Review of Political Science, 23, pp. 441–465.
• Sønderskov, K. M., Dinesen, P. T., Santini, Z. I. and Østergaard, S. D. (2020) ‘Increased Psychological Well-being after the Apex of the COVID-19 Pandemic’, Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 32(5), pp. 277–279.
• Sønderskov, K. M., Dinesen, P. T., Santini, Z. I. and Østergaard, S. D. (2020) ‘The Depressive State of Denmark during the COVID-19 Pandemic’, Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 34(2), pp. 226–228.

2019

• Larsen, M. V., Hjorth, F., Dinesen, P. T. and Sønderskov K. M. (2019) ‘When do Citizens Respond Politically to the Local Economy? Evidence from Registry Data on Local Housing Markets’, American Political Science Review, 113(2), pp. 499–516.

2017

• Danckert, B., Dinesen, P. T. and Sønderskov, K.M. (2017) ‘Reacting to Neighborhood Cues? Political Sophistication Moderates the Effect of Exposure to Immigrants’, Public Opinion Quarterly, 81(1), pp. 37–56.
• Hansen, B. T., Dinesen, P. T. and Østergaard, S. D. (2017) ‘Increased Incidence Rate of Trauma- and Stressor-related Disorders in Denmark after the Breivik Attacks in Norway’, Epidemiology, 28(6), pp. 906–909.
• Danckert, B., Dinesen, P. T.,  Klemmensen, R., Nørgaard, A. S., Stolle, D. and Sønderskov, K. M. (2017) ‘With an Open Mind: Openness to Experience Moderates the Effect of Interethnic Encounters on Support for Immigration’, European Sociological Review, 33(5), pp. 721–733.
• Hansen, B. T., Sønderskov, K. M., Hageman, I., Dinesen, P. T. and Østergaard, S. D. (2017) ‘Daylight Savings Time Transitions and the Incidence Rate of Unipolar Depressive Episodes’, Epidemiology, 28(3), pp. 346–353.

2016

• Sønderskov, K.M. and P. T. Dinesen (2016) ‘Trusting the State, Trusting Each Other? The Effect of Institutional Trust on Social Trust’, Political Behavior, 38(1), pp. 179–202.
• Dinesen, P. T., Dawes, C., Johanneson, M., Klemmensen, R., Magnusson, P., Nørgaard, A., Petersen, P. and Oskarsson, S. (2016) ‘Estimating the Impact of Education on Political Engagement: Evidence from Monozygotic Twins in the United States, Denmark and Sweden’, Political Behavior, 38(3), pp. 579–601.
• Oskarsson, S., Dinesen, P. T., Dawes, C. T.,  Johannesson, M. and Magnusson, P. K. E. (2016) ‘Education and Social Trust: Testing a Causal Hypothesis Using the Discordant Twin Design’, Political Psychology, 38(3), pp. 515–531.
• Bisgaard, M., Dinesen, P. T. and Sønderskov, K.M. (2016) ‘Reconsidering the Neighborhood Effect: Does Exposure to Residential Unemployment Influence Voters’ Perceptions of the National Economy?’, The Journal of Politics, 78(3), pp. 719–732.
• Hansen B. T, Østergaard, S. D., Sønderskov, K. M. and Dinesen, P. T. (2016) ‘Increased Incidence Rate of Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders in Denmark After the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks in the United States’, American Journal of Epidemiology, 184(7), pp. 494–500.
• Dinesen, P. T., Klemmensen, R. and Nørgaard, A. S. (2016) ‘Attitudes Toward Immigration: The Role of Personal Predispositions’, Political Psychology, 37(1), pp. 55–72.

2015

• Dinesen, P. T. and Sønderskov, K. M. (2015) ‘Ethnic Diversity and Social Trust: Evidence from the Micro-Context’, American Sociological Review, 80(3), pp. 550–573.

2014

• Nannestad, P., Svendsen, G. T., Dinesen, P. T. and Sønderskov, K. M. (2014) ‘Do Institutions or Culture Determine the Level of Social Trust? The Natural Experiment of Migration from Non-western to Western Countries’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 40(4), pp. 544–565.
• Dinesen, P. T., Nørgaard, A. S. and Klemmensen, R. (2014) ‘The Civic Personality: Personality and Democratic Citizenship’, Political Studies, 62(1), pp. 134–152.
• Sønderskov, K. M. and Dinesen, P. T. (2014) ‘Danish Exceptionalism: Explaining the Unique Increase in Social Trust Over the Past 30 Years’, European Sociological Review, 30(6), pp. 782–795.

2013

• Dinesen, P. T. and Jæger, M. M. (2013) ‘The Effect of Terror on Institutional Trust: New Evidence from the 3/11 Madrid Terrorist Attack’, Political Psychology, 34(6), pp. 917–926.
• Østergaard S. D., Petrides, G., Dinesen, P. T., Skadhede, S., Bech, P., Munk-Jørgensen, P. and Nielsen, J. (2013) ‘The Association between Physical Morbidity and Subtypes of Severe Depression’, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 82(1), pp. 45–52.
• Dinesen, P. T. (2013) ‘Where You Come From or Where You Live? Examining the Cultural and Institutional Explanation of Generalized Trust Using Migration as a Natural Experiment’, European Sociological Review, 29(1), pp. 114–128.

2012

• Dinesen, P. T. and Sønderskov, K. M. (2012) ‘Trust in a Time of Increasing Diversity: On the Relationship between Ethnic Heterogeneity and Social Trust in Denmark from 1979 until Today’, Scandinavian Political Studies, 35(4), pp. 273–294.
• Dinesen, P. T. (2012) ‘Does Generalized (Dis)Trust Travel? Examining the Impact of Cultural Heritage and Destination-Country Environment on Trust of Immigrants’, Political Psychology, 33(4), pp. 495–511.
• Dinesen, P. T. (2012) ‘Parental Transmission of Trust or Perceptions of Institutional Fairness: Generalized Trust of Non-Western Immigrants in a High-Trust Society’, Comparative Politics, 44(3), pp. 273–289.
• Klemmensen, R., Hobolt, S. B., Dinesen, P. T., Skytthe, A. and Nørgaard, A. S. (2012) ‘The Danish Political Twin Study: Political Traits in Danish Twins and the General Population’, Twin Research and Human Genetics, 15(1): pp. 74–78.

2011

• Dinesen, P. T. (2011) ‘A Note on the Measurement of Generalized Trust of Immigrants and Natives’, Social Indicators Research,103, pp. 169–177.
• Østergaard, S. D., Dinesen, P. T., Petrides, G., Skadhede, S., Munk-Jørgensen, P. and Nielsen, J. (2011) ‘Psychiatric Morbidity Preceding Psychotic and Non-psychotic Depression’, European Psychiatry, 26(2), pp. 670.
• Dinesen, P. T. (2011) ‘Me and Jasmina Down by the Schoolyard: An Analysis of the Impact of Ethnic Diversity in School on the Trust of Schoolchildren’, Social Science Research, 40(2), pp. 572–585.

2010

• Dinesen, P. T. and Hooghe, M. (2010) ‘When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do: The Acculturation of Generalized Trust among Immigrants in Western Europe’, International Migration Review, 44(3).
• Østergaard, S. D., Dinesen, P. T. and Foldager, L. (2010) ‘Quantifying the Value of Markers in Screening Programmes’, European Journal of Epidemiology, 25, pp. 151–154.
• Dinesen, P. T. (2010) ‘Upbringing, Early Experiences of Discrimination and Social Identity: Explaining Generalised Trust among Immigrants in Denmark’, Scandinavian Political Studies, 33(1), pp. 93–111.

Teaching

I teach political behaviour and related fields. I am interested in supervising PhD students who would like to work on broadly understood social and political attitude and belief formation (e.g. social and political trust, attitudes toward immigrants/immigration, and political participation).