Leor Zmigrod on why rigid thinking makes us vulnerable to extremism

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Are you as open-minded as you think you are? People who rate themselves as highly adaptable often score as the most rigid during unconscious cognitive testing.

In this episode of Changed My Mind, hosts Alex Chesterfield, Ali Goldsworthy, and Laura Osborne speak with political neuroscientist Leor Zmigrod. Zmigrod discusses her research into the link between cognitive style and political extremism, explaining how rigid thinking predicts dogmatism across the entire political spectrum.

Zmigrod also shares how she changed her own perspective regarding the depth of her research after realizing that rigid ideology does not just shape political attitudes, but fundamentally sculpts a person’s nervous system, perception, and everyday humanity.

What you’ll learn:

• The Alternative Uses Test: How simple, unconscious creativity games predict whether a person leans toward stubborn ideology or moderate, flexible thinking.
• The Extremism Overlap: Why radical leftists and the radical right exhibit strikingly similar psychological profiles rooted in cognitive rigidity and emotional impulsivity.
• The Danger of Radical Campaigning: Why using binary, polarising tactics to rally a base damages individuals psychologically.
• The Myth of the Strong Leader: How society creates large-scale problems by incorrectly praising leaders who refuse to change their minds.
• The Violence Connection: How highly rigid minds fuse rapidly to group identities and are significantly more willing to endorse political violence.

Buy Leor’s book, The Ideological Brain: How Rigid Beliefs Harm Our Minds & Bodies – And Why It Matters https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8711/9781405975148

Buy Alison, Laura and Alexandra’s new book, Poles Apart: Why People Turn Against Each Other, and How to Bring Them Together  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8711/9781847942975

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