Predisposed

Politics

Politics and Eating Worms

John R. Hibbing Ph.D. on January 24, 2014

Miley Cyrus’ performance was 'disgusting'. Immigration is a 'threat'. These descriptors of basic emotional states are commonly tossed around in popular discussion of hot button social and political topics. Research on the physiology of politics suggests that this connection between emotion and politics runs much deeper than just colorful metaphor.

Miley Cyrus’ performance was 'disgusting'. Immigration is a 'threat'. These descriptors of basic emotional states are commonly tossed around in popular discussion of hot button social and political topics. Research on the physiology of politics suggests that this connection between emotion and politics runs much deeper than just colorful metaphor.

Politics

Is Conservative the New Gay? Politics and Thanksgiving

John R. Alford Ph.D. on November 27, 2013

The best advice is to avoid topics like politics at Thanksgiving, but some how despite our best intentions it comes up anyway and things get ugly quick. So our holiday advice is to take advantage of what is possibly the most useful take-away from the growing body of research on the biology of politics—namely that ideology is an incurable congenital disorder.

The best advice is to avoid topics like politics at Thanksgiving, but some how despite our best intentions it comes up anyway and things get ugly quick. So our holiday advice is to take advantage of what is possibly the most useful take-away from the growing body of research on the biology of politics—namely that ideology is an incurable congenital disorder.

Politics

Politics Makes Me Sweat

Kevin B. Smith Ph.D. on November 14, 2013

Biological differences between liberals and conservative are not confined to the brain. They also can be found in the more mundane aspects of our physiology. Take sweat. People who lean right on socially protective policies like immigration and death penalty sweat more in response to threatening non-political images than do left-leaning individuals.

Biological differences between liberals and conservative are not confined to the brain. They also can be found in the more mundane aspects of our physiology. Take sweat. People who lean right on socially protective policies like immigration and death penalty sweat more in response to threatening non-political images than do left-leaning individuals.

Relationships

The Anatomy of Tea Partiers, or Red-Blue Déjà vu

John R. Hibbing Ph.D. on October 24, 2013

New empirical research is demonstrating that people at distinct locations on the ideological spectrum are structured very differently from one another, right down to their neurons. Tea party supporters do not merely ignore information or obtain it from the wrong sources - they experience and process the world differently from people on the left or in the center.

New empirical research is demonstrating that people at distinct locations on the ideological spectrum are structured very differently from one another, right down to their neurons. Tea party supporters do not merely ignore information or obtain it from the wrong sources - they experience and process the world differently from people on the left or in the center.

What makes conservatives and liberals so different? Our answer is that in part they are so different because biological differences cause them to experience and process different worlds. Even something as universal as the 'smell test' may lead the left in one direction and the right in another.