The Ideological Brain: The Radical Science of Flexible Thinking

A groundbreaking exploration of the science behind ideological thinking, from a pioneer in the emerging field of political neuroscience

In The Ideological Brain, Leor Zmigrod explains how the origins of our political and social beliefs are held in the makeup of our minds. Her cutting-edge research investigates the effects of believing passionately in rigid doctrine not only on our opinions and morals, but also on the fundamental structures of our brains. Merging psychology, politics, and philosophy, the book reveals how ideologies become physically ingrained in our bodies, even when politics isn't on our minds.

Guiding readers through her experiments, Zmigrod discovers that people across the ideological spectrum, whether on the Far Right or Far Left, struggle to change their thought patterns when faced with new information. She then investigates whether their brains have functioned this way since birth, or have come to embody this behavior over time in what she calls “the epigenetics of extremism.” Finally, she reflects on the social and political implications of this research, providing insight into how we can, individually and collectively, all remain open-minded ourselves.

About the Author

Leor Zmigrod is a prize-winning scientist whose research has pioneered the new field of “political neuroscience.” She completed her BA and PhD at Cambridge University as a Gates Scholar and won a prestigious Junior Research Fellowship at Churchill College, Cambridge to develop an independent research program into the cognitive roots of ideological convictions. Prior to coming to Cambridge in 2013 at the age of 18, she lived in Amsterdam. She was born in the United States and spent her early childhood in Israel. In addition to English, she speaks fluent Hebrew, and she also has various levels of proficiency in Dutch, Spanish, French and German.