Professor Federico's primary interest is in political psychology. In particular, he is 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, his research is centered on three specific topics: (1) racial attitudes, (2) attitude structure and belief systems, and (3) the nature of the interface between motivation and ideological affinity.
Professor Federico is also the current Director of the Center for the Study of Political Psychology at the University of Minnesota.