His research explores how the features of people’s social and economic contexts influence their decisions, behaviors, and attitudes. He is especially interested in the mechanisms through which economic inequalities become social inequalities, applying methods of causal inference to estimate contextual effects, and understanding social change—both past and future—in the United States. In recent projects, Pat has investigated income inequality’s effects on class divides in parenting and housework, on household moving and indebtedness, and on people’s trust and financial satisfaction; how economic shocks affect marriage and fertility; the role of religion and spirituality in social connectedness; and the reliability of survey questions. His work has appeared in the American Sociological Review, Demography, Social Forces, Social Science Research, Socius, and Sociological Science.