A few years ago, the leader of Mexico’s PRI party told the New York Times that he would “stick to tried and trusted campaign tools like polls and political intuition” and rely on the “old-fashioned way” to win the country’s election victory. vote.
His party was caught using neuroscience to gauge voters’ opinions of presidential candidates, and the party was embarrassed. We later know from other sources that the party continues to use neuroscience techniques. Someone even described their approach as “the new way to win elections.”
The approach is called neuropolitics and uses brain science to understand our politics. It uses insights from neuroscience to explain why we attend protests, vote for certain parties, and even lie about our true feelings in opinion polls, potentially skewing the results to give the public a false impression of who will win.
I studied neuroscience before pursuing a doctorate in political science. At that time, studying the brain was utopian research, but things have changed. And this has political consequences. The Mexican example is an example of politicians exploiting neuroscience for their own voter interests, but there are many other examples that I write about in my new book, The Political Brain.
It may seem like science fiction. But that is the truth. We already know a lot about how our brains influence our political beliefs and give rise to our political views. Here are just four things your brain can uncover about your politics — and believe me, there are so many more.
1. Which politicians do you like?
Let’s start with the basics. Advances in social neuroscience mean we can identify the parts of your brain that are activated when you watch political ads and much more. We can do this thanks to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI scans).
When we think, our brain needs oxygen. This oxygen is carried with the blood. Because blood contains iron, which is magnetic, it appears on a magnetic scanner. So, if I see photos of a person in distress, more blood will flow to an area on the side of the brain called the insula.
For example, when we want to buy something or like a particular election candidate, we activate a part of the brain called the ventral striatum. It is part of the basal ganglia, the part of the brain associated with rewards.
So, if your brain fires up when you see candidate A, that’s a sign you’ll vote for him.
This also works on a micro level. When we like something, this area is bombarded by a neurotransmitter called dopamine. When we see photos or movies of a candidate we like, there is more dopamine in the ventral striatum.
2. If you’re centre-left
We need to be careful because the brain is a complex machine and no single area is responsible for how we think. However, some areas are related to political thought.
A study co-authored by actor Colin Firth found: “More liberalism.” [left-wing thinking] was associated with increased gray matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex”. This part of the brain is associated with empathy. Perhaps this research proves that people on the left are more empathetic.
Perhaps we should add that the star of The King’s Speech, Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones’ Diary was guest editor of the BBC radio program Today when he commissioned researchers to conduct the study. He doesn’t have a secret second career as a neuroscientist, but the work he proposes is legitimate science that has been rigorously peer-reviewed and published in a leading biology journal.
3. If you’re center-right
This was the leftist brain. What about conservatives or the centre-right? Individuals with this belief tend to approach change with skepticism and be cautious when making choices. The brain region associated with these features is the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex at the top of the brain.
Read more: Five signs you might be right-wing
Of course, the researchers found that this part was activated when subjects were exposed to video clips containing political messages or images of people living alternative lifestyles; something that perhaps suggests a negative reaction to these lifestyles.
4. You are open to authoritarianism
So far we’ve looked at moderate leftists and moderate conservatives, but some individuals take more extreme positions. Some describe themselves as religious fundamentalists and are prepared to use violence to stop abortion, for example. Others define themselves on the far right of the political spectrum.
A small study of these people found that under an fMRI scanner, their brains showed signs of damage in an area called the ventro-medial prefrontal cortex. This is an area associated with social intelligence and tolerance.
It may be tempting to jump to this conclusion, but it should be added that the amygdala appears to be activated when both far-right and far-left views are shown clips of political opponents. The amygdala is the part of the brain that comes into play when we are faced with mortal danger, such as when we see a snake.
guessing brain
Some may find this scary. Maybe so. Whatever you think, we already know that we can predict ideology with up to 85% accuracy.
Neuropolitics is certainly strange and even worrying, but once accustomed to pure research it opens the possibility of combining the natural sciences with the moral sciences. We too can combine science and philosophy as we seek to “introduce the Method of Experimental Reasoning into Moral Subjects,” as the philosopher David Hume dreamed of doing in the 18th century.
You can choose to ignore this. But it is already used in the real world of political advertising. It’s not fiction anymore. It can be dangerous when misused. That’s why we need to talk about this.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Matt Qvortrup does not work for, consult, own shares in, or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations other than academic appointments.