Politics on the Brain Flashcards
Three large-scale neural networks/circuits underlying social processes and interactions. Wang et al. (2017)
Face perception network
Mirroring network
- allows us to understand actions and emotions by simulating them internally
Mentalizing network (theory of mind)
Summarise the findings from Kanai et al. (2011)
Conservatives were found to have smaller anterior cingulate cortexes and larger amygdalas
Todorov et al. (2015) findings
Electoral outcomes are predicted by how dominant, sociable, threatening, stereotypically Republican, and even stereotypically politician-like candidates’ faces are
Olivola & Todorov (2010) findings
How competent a politicians face looks, predicts the size of the vote share and the likelihood that they will win
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
- The magnetic field created is perpendicular to the coil
- This induces an electrical current in the underlying cortex
- This disrupts neuronal activity, creating a temporary brain ‘lesion’ in the area, temporarily disrupting cognitive processing in that brain region
summarise Ferrari et al. (2016)
TMS on the dmPFC
participants updated their opinion on a made up individual based on a congruent or incongruent statement. giving a score of trustworthiness
sham and real groups
no difference between sham and real for congruent condition
real group were less able to update their opinion than the sham group in the incongruent condition
Denzau & North’s definition of political ideology (1994;2000)
“ideologies are the shared framework of mental models that groups of individuals possess that provide both an interpretation of the environment and a prescription as to how that environment should be structured” (p. 24)
Origin of political right and left?
Since the French Revolution, eighteenth-century supporters of the status quo sat on the right of the French Assembly hall, while opponents in favour of social change sat on the left.
Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson, and Sanford’s (1950)
Identified a set of “authoritarian” personality traits
- strong adherence to conventional values
- belief in absolute obedience to authority figures
- tendency to be rigid in thinking
- preference for strong leadership
- Inflexible and dogmatic thinking styles, resistant to change, an all or nothing view of the world, and less open to new ideas or alternative perspectives
- Displayed higher levels of ethnocentrism
What personality traits are associated with left-wing ideology?
Novelty seeking (Jost, Federico & Napier, 2009)
Openness to experience (Jost et al., 2003)
What cognitive styles are associated with left-wing ideology?
Cognitive flexibility (Crisp & Meleady, 2012)
Cognitive inhibition (Jost et al., 2003)
What personality traits are associated with right-wing ideology?
Conscientious and orderly (Carney, Jost, Gosling, & Potter, 2008)
Threat perceptive (Jost et al., 2003)
Traditionalism (Jost et al., 2003)
Religious (Lipka & Gecewicz, 2017)
What did Amodio, et al. (2007) Hypothesise?
Go/No-Go task
Hypothesised that differences in the cognitive styles of liberals and conservatives might reflect basic differences in information processing mechanisms, such as those involved in conflict monitoring
what is meant by “Conflict monitoring”?
a general mechanism for detecting when one’s habitual response tendency is mismatched with responses required by the current situation
What did Amodio et al. (2007) find?
Greater liberalism associated with stronger conflict-related ACC activity, suggesting greater neurocognitive sensitivity to response conflict
Political orientation reflects individual differences in cognitive control and self-regulation
Stronger conservatism (versus liberalism) was associated with less neurocognitive sensitivity to response conflicts.
At the behavioural level, conservatives were more likely to make errors of commission, and a liberal orientation was associated with better performance on the response-inhibition task
Summarise Schneider et al. (2013)
Looked at brain activity during a risk-taking task
Behaviour did not differ between Democrats and Republicans
Democrats showed greater activity in the left insula
Republicans showed great activity in the right amygdala.
What do twin and genetic studies reveal about the heritability of political attitudes and ideology?
- Heritability: Political attitudes and ideology are about 40% heritable (Dawes & Weinschenk, 2020).
- Shared Genetics & Environment: Account for about 50% of overall variation, with genetics contributing twice as much as the shared environment (Alford et al., 2005).
What are the implications of brain activity differences for political behavior in liberals and conservatives?
Liberals:
Increased ACC (Anterior Cingulate Cortex) activity leads to greater openness to change and new perspectives.
More likely to accept uncertainty and explore novel ideas.
Conservatives:
Stronger amygdala responses lead to heightened sensitivity to threats and risks.
Prefer stability and established structures to reduce perceived risks.
These differences explain divergent approaches to political and social issues.
Define intolerance
“Unwillingnessto accept views, beliefs, or behaviour that differ from one’s own”
What is the Ideological Conflict Hypothesis (ICH)?
Brandt, Reyna, Chambers, Crawford, and Wetherell (2014)
ICH explains why ideological opponents see each other as threats, leading to hostility and polarization.
Suggests individuals across political spectrum can demonstrate intolerance towards opposing ideological beliefs
Key Mechanisms:
Value Conflict → Disagreement over core values (e.g., tradition vs. progress).
Threat Perception → Feeling endangered by opposing beliefs (e.g., conservatives fear social change, liberals fear inequality).
Value Violation → Opposing actions seen as morally wrong, leading to outrage.
Impact: Reinforces political intolerance, dehumanization, and resistance to compromise.
different brain regions contributing to in-group favoritism, bias, and prejudice regulation
(table)
Facial and action perception:
Amygdala, Fusiform Face Area (FFA)
Empathy:
Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex (dACC), Anterior Insula
Mentalizing (Theory of Mind):
Medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC), Temporoparietal Junction (TPJ)
Moral Sensitivity:
Lateral Orbitofrontal Cortex (OFC)
Reward System:
Medial Orbitofrontal Cortex (OFC), Striatum
Key findings from Andrews et al. (2019) football study
Frontal and subcortical regions showed significant group bias.
Intersubject correlations in these regions were higher for participants from the same group compared with participants from different groups.
Thought to be related to the interpretation of the content viewed.
E.g., Your team scoring = positive. To the opposition = negative.
Linked to reward system, affective processing and memory
Haas et al., (2020) fMRI study
Evaluated policy positions attributed to a political figure
Policy position was either congruent or incongruent with political figure’s party
These were also presented with differing levels of certainty
Results implicated the ACC and insula
Uncertainty influenced neural responses differently as a function of affective/emotional context
E.g., greatest activation in response to party policy position that was incongruent to the political figure’s affiliation and presented with certainty.
Congruent trials greater response to uncertain than certain
Summarise the findings of Van Baar et al. (2021)
Study Published in PNAS (van Baar et al., 2021): Investigates how intolerance of uncertainty (IU) influences brain responses to political content.
Participants & Method:
44 participants (22 liberals, 22 conservatives).
Functional MRI (fMRI) used to measure brain activity while watching political debates and news segments.
Key Findings:
Individuals with higher intolerance of uncertainty (IU) showed greater neural synchrony with like-minded peers.
They exhibited less synchrony with ideological opponents, reinforcing political polarization.
This pattern was observed across both liberals and conservatives, suggesting that uncertainty aversion amplifies ideological biases.
Conclusion:
Intolerance of uncertainty intensifies polarized perceptions by shaping how political information is processed in the brain.
People’s neural responses align more with their political ideology, making them more resistant to opposing viewpoints.
