There are a number of studies being released regarding brain research. See this TFP thread here for a discussion on brain structures and socializing:
http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/general...cializing.html
The study reported below makes an association between those with right-wing views and a larger area of the brain associated with fear:
Quote:
Political views 'hard-wired' into your brain
Tories may be born not made, claims a study that suggests people with right wing views have a larger area of the brain associated with fear.
Richard Alleyne
By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent 5:00PM GMT 28 Dec 2010
Scientists have found that people with conservative views have brains with larger amygdalas, almond shaped areas in the centre of the brain often associated with anxiety and emotions.
On the other hand, they have a smaller anterior cingulate, an area at the front of the brain associated with courage and looking on the bright side of life.
The "exciting" correlation was found by scientists at University College London who scanned the brains of two members of parliament and a number of students.
They found that the size of the two areas of the brain directly related to the political views of the volunteers.
However as they were all adults it was hard to say whether their brains had been born that way or had developed through experience.
Prof Geraint Rees, who led the research, said: "We were very surprised to find that there was an area of the brain that we could predict political attitude.
"It is very surprising because it does suggest there is something about political attitude that is encoded in our brain structure through our experience or that there is something in our brain structure that determines or results in political attitude."
Prof Rees and his team, who carried out the research for the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, looked at the brain make up of the Labour MP Stephen Pound and Alan Duncan, the Conservative Minister of State for International Development using a scanner.
They also questioned a further 90 students, who had already been scanned for other studies, about their political views.
The results, which will be published next year, back up a study that showed that some people were born with a "Liberal Gene" that makes people more likely to seek out less conventional political views.
The gene, a neurotransmitter in the brain called DRD4, could even be stimulated by the novelty value of radical opinions, claimed the researchers at the University of California.
|
Political views 'hard-wired' into your brain - Telegraph
The particular angle here is that the study points to brain structure as a signifier of political affiliation.
- Do you believe political associations are dictated by brain structures? i.e. are politics hardwired?
- Is it possible for an extreme conservative to become a deep-seated liberal or vice versa?
- Is there a "liberal gene"?
- Does this study lead you to believe that conservative politics are fuelled by fear?
I usually take these studies with a grain of salt. The brain is so complex, and human behaviour is still a largely misunderstood thing. However, these findings are interesting.
I tend to view conservatives as people who react to things they don't trust or believe in or accept into their own lives. Many tend to think that the acceptance of something new will somehow rip at the very fabric of society. Many disapprove of a lot of things, and it's difficult to know what they
do approve of. So I guess that is a kind of fear.
I don't see this as an absolute. I know that politics are a spectrum. I'm more or less commenting on what I've observed in people. There are a few people who I have trouble pegging as either conservative or liberal, and so I guess these people are generally "moderates" for the lack of a better word.
Anyway, what do you think of the study? Of the theory?