by 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 that he would rely on “the old-fashioned way” to win to win the country. election.
His party was caught using neuroscience to gauge voters’ opinions about their presidential candidate and the party was embarrassed. After that, we know from other sources that the party continued 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 applies neuroscience insights to explain why we take part in protests, vote for particular parties and even why we state our feelings in polls, potentially skewing the results. to mislead the public as to who is going to win.
I studied neuroscience before getting a doctorate in political science. Back then the study of the brain was a utopian research pressure, but things have changed. And this has political implications. The Mexican case is one example of politicians exploiting neuroscience to their electoral advantage, but there are many more, which I write about in my new book The Political Brain.
It might sound like science fiction. But it is a fact. We already know a lot about how our brains influence our political beliefs and reveal our political views. Here are four things your brain can reveal about your politics – and believe me, there are plenty more.
1. Which politicians do you like
Let’s start with the basics. Advances in social neuroscience mean we can identify the parts of the brain that activate when you watch political ads – and many other things. We can do this thanks to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI scans).
When we think, the brain needs oxygen. This oxygen is carried around with blood. Because the blood contains iron, which is magnetic, it shows up in a magnetic scanner. So if I see photos of someone 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 when we like a particular election candidate – we activate a part of the brain called the ventral striatum. It is part of the so-called basal ganglia, a part of the brain associated with reward.
So, if your brain is activated when you see candidate A, it is a sign that you will vote for him or her.
This also works at the micro level. When we like something, the area is bombarded with 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 are in the middle left
We have to be careful because the brain is a complex machine, and no one area is responsible for the way we think. But certain areas are related to political thinking.
A study – co-authored by actor Colin Firth – found that “more liberal [left-wing thinking] it was associated with an increased volume of gray matter in the anterior cingulate cortex”. This part of the brain is associated with empathy. So, perhaps this research proves that those on the left are more empathetic.
Perhaps we should say that the star of The King’s Speech, Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones’s Diary was guest editing the BBC’s Today radio program when it commissioned researchers to carry out the study. He doesn’t have a secret second career as a neuroscientist, even though the work he advocated is legitimate science that has been rigorously peer-reviewed and published in a top biology journal.
3. If you are middle-right
That was the left brain. What about the conservatives or the center right? Well, individuals of this persuasion tend to be skeptical of change and cautious when making choices. The region of the brain associated with these traits is the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, on the upper side of the brain.
Read more: Five signs you may be on the right side
Sure enough, the researchers found that this part was activated when exposed to video clips with political messages or images of people with different lifestyles – possibly suggesting a negative response to the lifestyles. that.
4. If you accept authoritarianism
So far we have to look at moderate leftists and moderate conservatives, but some people take more extreme positions. Some describe themselves as religious fundamentalists and are willing to use violence to stop abortion, for example. Others identify themselves with the far right of the political spectrum.
A small study of these people found that their brains – while under the fMRI scanner – show signs of damage to the so-called ventro-medial prefrontal cortex. This is an area associated with social intelligence and tolerance.
It is tempting to draw conclusions, but it should be said that those who hold extreme views on both the far right and the far left show activation of the amygdala when they are shown clips of political combat. The amygdala is the part of the brain that kicks in if we are in mortal danger, like when we see a snake.
The brain predicts
Some may find this scary. Maybe it is. Whatever you think, we already know that we can predict ideology with up to 85% accuracy.
Neuropolitics is certainly strange, and perhaps even disturbing but when used in pure research, it opens the prospect of combining the natural sciences with the moral sciences. A little like the philosopher David Hume dreamed of doing in the 18th century, when he tried to “introduce the Experimental Method of Reasoning into Moral Matters”, we too can combine science and philosophy.
You might choose to ignore it. But, it is already being used in the real world of political advertising. It’s not fiction anymore. when abused, it can be dangerous. That’s why we need to talk about it.
This article from The Conversation is republished under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Matt Qvortrup does not work for, consult with, share in, or be funded by any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no affiliations relevant beyond their academic appointment.
