Political Psychology Lab

Who are we?

We are primarily located in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University. Our goal is to understand ideological and moral beliefs – such as political ideology, racism, religious fundamentalism, and moral conviction – and how they structure attitudes and behaviors, how they provide people with meaning, and why people adopt them in the first place.

Interested in political psychology and intergroup relations? Join the Minority Politics Online Seminar Series!

Click here to learn about ways to join the lab!

Projects

Belief System Networks

Can we understand belief systems as systems?

Legitimacy

Why do people see the status quo as legitimate?

Morality and Moralization

How do things become moralized?

Worldview Conflict

How is ideology related to prejudice?

Improving Psychological Science

How can we improve psychological science?

Minority Politics

Interdisciplinary network of faculty and students studying minority politics at Michigan State University

Selected Publications

Check out all of our publications!

Turner-Zwinkels, F. M. & Brandt, M. J. (2022). Belief system networks can be used to predict where to expect dynamic constraint. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 100, 104279.

PDF DOI

Brandt, M. J. & Morgan, G. S. (2022). Between-person methods provide limited insight about within-person belief systems. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 123, 621-635.

PDF Code Dataset DOI

Brandt, M. J. (2022). Measuring the belief system of a person. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 123, 830-853.

PDF Code Dataset DOI

Turner-Zwinkels, F. M., Sibley, C. G., Johnson, B. B., & Brandt, M. J. (2021). Conservatives moral foundations are more densely connected than liberals’ moral foundations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 47, 167-184.

PDF DOI

Brandt, M. J., & Sleegers, W. W. A. (2021). Evaluating belief system networks as a theory of political belief system dynamics. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 25, 159-185.

PDF Code DOI

Brandt, M. J. & Crawford, J. T. (2020). Worldview conflict and prejudice. In B. Gawronski (Ed.) Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 61, 1-66.

PDF DOI

Political Psychology Lab

Michigan State University

Department of Psychology

Who are we?

Projects

Belief System Networks

Legitimacy

Morality and Moralization

Worldview Conflict

Improving Psychological Science

Minority Politics

The Lab

Researchers

Mark J. Brandt

Principal Investigator

Abby Cassario

PhD Student

Mehmet Tunc

PhD Student

Shree Vallabha

PhD Student

Mascots

Loempia

Mascot

Alumni

Rabia Kodapanakkal

Former PhD Student

Nina Spalti

Former PhD Student

Felicity Turner-Zwinkels

Former Postdoc

Fieke Wagemans

Former PhD Student

Selected Publications

Turner-Zwinkels, F. M. & Brandt, M. J. (2022). Belief system networks can be used to predict where to expect dynamic constraint. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 100, 104279.

Brandt, M. J. & Morgan, G. S. (2022). Between-person methods provide limited insight about within-person belief systems. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 123, 621-635.

Brandt, M. J. (2022). Measuring the belief system of a person. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 123, 830-853.

Turner-Zwinkels, F. M., Sibley, C. G., Johnson, B. B., & Brandt, M. J. (2021). Conservatives moral foundations are more densely connected than liberals’ moral foundations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 47, 167-184.

Brandt, M. J., & Sleegers, W. W. A. (2021). Evaluating belief system networks as a theory of political belief system dynamics. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 25, 159-185.

Brandt, M. J. & Crawford, J. T. (2020). Worldview conflict and prejudice. In B. Gawronski (Ed.) Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 61, 1-66.