Liberals vs. Conservatives vs. Neuroscientists

Political ideology, the structure of your political attitudes, leads most in the United States to consider themselves a member of one of two distinct poles that fundamentally disagree with each other: Conservative (Right-winged) vs. Liberal (Left-winged). The fundamental difference between the two groups being the Right believe in limiting government control, while the Left view government as a corrective tool.  These political beliefs, can be so strong, they cause individuals to want to change the minds of others by standing on street corners, or perhaps more commonly, arguing with friends and family.

With the 2012 presidential election still fresh in mind, and the latest political debates cropping up in the news, many wonder how these political attitudes form. A question addressed by a professor in the Department of Political Science at Loyola University Chicago, Dane Wendell M.A. . Wendell presented research done by Douglas R. Oxley and other researches, that was founded around discovering how these political attitudes form, by looking at inherited responses from our ancestors, such as fear of aggressors. Their experiment consisted of a subject viewing 30 plain images, with 3 more startling images mixed in and presented with a loud white noise intended to startle. It was found that those with more conservative values (e.g. support of military power, gun ownership) on average had a stronger blink response, higher rates of skin conductance (i.e. sweat response), and paid more attention to the threatening images. It was also found that those who were less responsive to the noise and “shock” cards, favored liberal ideas of pacifism, gun control, and a support of foreign aid.

This connects with ideas research presented in Science Daily done at the University of South Carolina.  The study involved analyzing MRI scans of a sample of USC students, focusing on the mirror neuron system which is a network that links many social and emotional abilities found in the inferior frontal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus and angular gyrus of the brain. Results showed that Democrats had more neural activity in areas associated with “broad social connectedness,” whereas Republicans showed the opposite with more activity in areas linked with “tight social connectedness.” Both these support commonly held stereotypes about each party, and connects with other research in the fact that Republicans tend to place a high value on family and country, specifically in upholding and protecting those, where as Democrats are more focused on the needs of the world as whole and the impacts of society.

Not all research in the area of political neuroscience has been conclusive, however. Perhaps this is due to the fact that despite our neuroanatomy, political affiliation is a choice.  While these studies account for our biology, it does not account for the variability that comes with personality traits, that many people switch political affiliations in their lifetime, and that we choose to join a particular party.  This inherent biological difference, however, is important in understanding our differences and their origins will only help in understanding, and communicating ideas between both parties.

Sources:

Political Attitudes Vary with Physiological Traits.

Douglas R. Oxley, Kevin B. Smith, John R. Alford, Matthew V. Hibbing, Jennifer L. Miller, Mario Scalora, Peter K. Hatemi, and John R. Hibbing.

Science 19 September 2008: 321 (5896), 1667-1670. [DOI:10.1126/science.1157627]

University of South Carolina. "This is your brain on politics: Neuroscience reveals brain differences

between Republicans and Democrats." ScienceDaily, 1 Nov. 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.

Wendell, Dane. Neuroscience Seminar. Loyola University Chicago, Chicago. 29 Oct. 2013.

Lecture.