John Alford

About

John Alford is a Professor of Political Science at Rice University. His published work primarily focuses on elections and voting behavior, with an emphasis on the American Congress. He has also published in diverse areas such as coal mine safety, pro-natalist policy in Eastern Europe, and the genetics of political ideology. His current research concentrates on the biology of political behavior, including brain science and genetics, as well as the role of evolution in shaping human political behavior. Recent articles by Professor Alford have appeared in prominent journals such as the American Political Science Review, Perspectives on Politics, and the American Journal of Political Science.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Psychology
• Biology
• Endocrinology
• Social psychology
• Law

Selected publications

• Differences in negativity bias underlie variations in political ideology

  Behavioral and Brain Sciences · 2014-06-01 · 609 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Disputes between those holding differing political views are ubiquitous and deep-seated, and they often follow common, recognizable lines. The supporters of tradition and stability, sometimes referred to as conservatives, do battle with the supporters of innovation and reform, sometimes referred to as liberals. Understanding the correlates of those distinct political orientations is probably a prerequisite for managing political disputes, which are a source of social conflict that can lead to fr…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Intuitive Ethics and Political Orientations: Testing Moral Foundations as a Theory of Political Ideology

  American Journal of Political Science · 2016-04-08 · 187 citations

  article

  Abstract Originally developed to explain cultural variation in moral judgments, moral foundations theory (MFT) has become widely adopted as a theory of political ideology. MFT posits that political attitudes are rooted in instinctual evaluations generated by innate psychological modules evolved to solve social dilemmas. If this is correct, moral foundations must be relatively stable dispositional traits, changes in moral foundations should systematically predict consequent changes in political o…

  PublisherDOI

• Nonpolitical Images Evoke Neural Predictors of Political Ideology

  Current Biology · 2014-10-30 · 126 citations

  articleOpen access

  Political ideologies summarize dimensions of life that define how a person organizes their public and private behavior, including their attitudes associated with sex, family, education, and personal autonomy [1Jost J.T. Federico C.M. Napier J.L. Political ideology: its structure, functions, and elective affinities.Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2009; 60: 307-337Crossref PubMed Scopus (1055) Google Scholar, 2Haidt J. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Religion and Politics. Pantheon, New Yor…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Predisposed

  2013-09-23 · 114 citations

  bookSenior author

  Buried in many people and operating largely outside the realm of conscious thought are forces inclining us toward liberal or conservative political convictions. Our biology predisposes us to see and understand the world in different ways, not always reason and the careful consideration of facts. These predispositions are in turn responsible for a significant portion of the political and ideological conflict that marks human history. With verve and wit, renowned social scientists John Hibbing, Ke…

  PublisherDOI

• The Genetic and Environmental Foundations of Political, Psychological, Social, and Economic Behaviors: A Panel Study of Twins and Families

  Twin Research and Human Genetics · 2015-05-21 · 29 citations

  articleOpen access

  Here we introduce the Genetic and Environmental Foundations of Political and Economic Behaviors: A Panel Study of Twins and Families (PIs Alford, Hatemi, Hibbing, Martin, and Smith). This study was designed to explore the genetic and environmental influences on social, economic, and political behaviors and attitudes. It involves identifying the psychological mechanisms that operate on these traits, the heritability of complex economic and political traits under varying conditions, and specific g…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• John R. Hibbing

  71 shared

• Kevin B. Smith

  University of Nebraska–Lincoln

  41 shared

• Peter Hatemi

  Pennsylvania State University

  24 shared

• Matthew V. Hibbing

  University of California, Merced

  15 shared

• Douglas R. Oxley

  Mitchell Institute

  12 shared

• Lindon J. Eaves

  10 shared

• Mario J. Scalora

  University of Nebraska–Lincoln

  9 shared

• Jennifer Miller

  Palo Alto University

  9 shared

Similar researchers at Rice University

• Behnaam Aazhangh-51
• Alessandro Alabastrih-34
• David Alexanderh-22