Christopher M. Federico Associate Professor Psychology and Political Science N385 Elliott Hall, (612) 626-0560 federico@umn.edu Education Ph.D., 2001, UCLA M.A., 1996, UCLA B.A., 1995, UC Berkeley

Current Research Projects

Vita

Recent Courses

Introduction to Social Psychology
Analysis of Psychological Data
Intergroup Relations

Links

Center for the Study of Political Psychology
Department of Political Science

Statement of Interests

As a researcher and theorist, my interests fall primarily within the domain of political psychology. More precisely, I am interested in how a number of factors — namely, people’s values and beliefs, the structural characteristics of their social environments, and their ability and willingness to use political information — interact to shape perceptions of the political world and attitudes toward objects in it. Currently, my research is centered on three specific topics: (1) the organization of whites' racial attitudes, with a particular focus on the role of educational attainment; (2) the cognitive and motivational antecedents of attitude and belief-system structure; and (3) the interface between epistemic motivations, group identity, and conflict-related attitudes and behaviors.

Selected Publications

Federico, C. (2004). Predicting Attitude Extremity: The Interactive Effects of Schema Development and the Need to Evaluate – and Their Mediation by Evaluative Integration. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 1281-1294.

Federico, C. (2004). When do welfare attitudes become racialized? The paradoxical effects of education. American Journal of Political Science, 48, 374-391.

Federico, C., & Levin, S. (2004). Intergroup biases as a function of reflected status appraisals and support for legitimizing ideologies: Evidence from the USA and Israel. Social Justice Research, 17, 47-73.

Golec, A., & Federico, C. M. (2004). Understanding responses to political conflict: Interactive effects of the need for closure and salient conflict schemas. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 750-762.

Federico, C., Golec, A., & Dial, J. (in press). The Relationship Between Need for Closure and Support for Military Action Against Iraq: Moderating Effects of National Attachment. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Federico, C., & Holmes, J. W. (in press). Education and the interface between racial attitudes and criminal-justice attitudes. Political Psychology.

Federico, C. (in press). Education, Ideology, and Racial Ambivalence: Conflict Amplification or Conflict Resolution? In S. C. Craig and M. D. Martinez (Eds.), Ambivalence, Politics, and Public Policy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Federico, C. M., & Sidanius, J. (2002a). Racism, ideology, and affirmative action, revisited: The antecedents and consequences of ‘principled objections’ to affirmative action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 488-502.

Federico, C. M., & Sidanius, J. (2002b). Sophistication and the antecedents of whites’ racial- policy attitudes: Racism, ideology, and affirmative action in America. Public Opinion Quarterly, 66, 145-176.

Federico, C. (1999). The interactive effects of social dominance orientation, group status, and perceived stability on favoritism for high-status groups. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 2, 119-144.

Current Research Materials

Ability, Motivation, and the Use of Ideology: Study 1
Ability, Motivation, and the Use of Ideology: Study 2
Ability, Motivation, and the Use of Ideology: Study 3a
Ability, Motivation, and the Use of Ideology: Study 3b