Discover the hidden forces shaping our beliefs, behaviours – and even changing our brains
Why do some people become radicalized? Who is most susceptible to ideological thinking? Can we unchain our minds from toxic dogmas?
Drawing on her groundbreaking research, Dr Leor Zmigrod uncovers the hidden mechanisms driving our beliefs and behaviours. She uses the powerful tools of neuroscience to show that our political beliefs are not transient thoughts in our minds, divorced from our bodies – ideologies actually change our neural architecture, our cells. For instance, she demonstrates how a simple card sorting game can reveal your entire approach to life. Cognitive rigidity in such tasks – struggling to adapt to new rules – mirrors the rigidity with which you cling to social and political ideologies. While some individuals are more susceptible to dogmatic thinking than others, all of us can strive to be more flexible.
The Ideological Brain is essential reading in today’s polarized and polarizing world. To foster a more informed, resilient and freer society, we need to zoom into the processes happening inside each of us and learn to spot rigid thinking in ourselves and others. We need to learn to avoid black-and-white thinking and embrace ambiguity. We need to recognize our ability to resist irrational rules and authority. Regardless of your political stance, this book will challenge you to reassess your convictions – and what they are doing to your brain.
About the Author
Dr Leor Zmigrod is a prize-winning scientist and pioneer in the field of 'political neuroscience.' She studied at Cambridge University as a Gates Scholar before winning a Junior Research Fellowship at Churchill College, Cambridge. Zmigrod has published over 30 peer-reviewed papers and has held visiting fellowships at Stanford, Harvard, and both the Berlin and Paris Institutes for Advanced Study. She was listed on 'Forbes 30 Under 30' in Science and has won numerous prizes, including the Women of the Future Science Award and the Glushko Prize.
She has spoken at the Hay Festival and TEDx, and her research has been featured widely in the media, including in The New York Times, Guardian, Financial Times and New Scientist. Zmigrod advises policymakers at the United Nations, the UK and US governments, and other international organizations. This is her first book.
Industry Reviews
'Filled with insightful findings, this book shows that ideological extremism and polarization are not just problems to fret about but puzzles that can be studied and understood'
Steven Pinker, author of The Better Angels of Our Nature
'This remarkable book tells us something fascinating and heartening about the neuroscience of our inflexibilities and our dogmatisms. Lucid and eloquent, The Ideological Brain couldn't be more timely'
Adam Phillips, author of Missing Out
'Fascinating, insightful, lucidly and entertainingly written, Zmigrod's account illuminates the debate about the nature of ideology and the power it exerts, by bringing cognitive neuroscience – in fact, an intriguing development of it: ‘political neuroscience’ – to bear on both. An educative, rewarding, troubling, but ultimately hopeful, book'
A. C. Grayling, author of The History of Philosophy
'An extraordinary, eye-opening and startlingly original book, showing what ideology does to the human brain, and casting a bright new light on the sources and nature of dogmatism, ideology and open-mindedness. Packed with insights, this is a remarkable achievement'
Cass R. Sunstein, co-author of Nudge
'A fascinating and important exploration of the causes of cognitive rigidity and of the factors that make some people more vulnerable to it than others. Leor Zmigrod draws on neuroscience, psychology and philosophy in her quest to understand why and how some people are drawn to authoritarian thinking and even to terrorism while others are able to question and resist dominant ideologies'
Nigel Warburton, author of A Little History of Philosophy
'The notion that political phenomena would somehow exist in a realm separate from that of human life regulation is pure fiction, as Leor Zmigrod demonstrates so clearly. Her book is a must read'
Antonio Damasio, author of Feeling and Knowing
‘If I had to pick one, Zmigrod’s would be my book to watch out for in 2025’
Simon Ings, New Scientist
'Massively important...Zmigrod is a joyful and compelling writer'
Tom Calver, The Sunday Times
‘Leor Zmigrod’s hotly awaited debut…uses new research to show that polarised thinking isn’t something that just floats through the mind: it changes our entire neural architecture’ THE TELEGRAPH, BEST BOOKS OF 2025
The Telegraph
'Zmigrod reveals the science behind dogma and shows us how to nurture cognitive flexibility instead’ THE GUARDIAN, BRILLIANT BOOKS IN READ IN 2025
Guardian
'The Ideological Brain is a deeply fascinating and beautifully written investigation of the human mind‘s susceptibility to radical ideologies. Leor Zmigrod elegantly weaves together her ground-breaking research with vivid storytelling. The book is a treasure trove of surprising insights: from the epigenetics of extremism to the impact of stress on rigid thinking, and the role of parenting styles in cultivating authoritarian attitudes.'
Julia Ebner, author of GOING DARK
'A joy to read... this book is not, it is fair to say, like most popular science titles. It leaps elegantly between different styles and genres. It is witty. The whole experience is, in the fullest possible sense, mind-expanding'
Peter Hoskin, Prospect Magazine
'Zmigrod is such an appealing writer... intellectual honesty is ultimately what this book is about'
Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times
'This authoritative, accessible and playful blend of psychology, politics and philosophy explores the cutting-edge of the emerging field of political neuroscience'
Panio Gianopoulos, Next Big Idea Club
