Which is more fun: social science and politics, or brain scanners and politics? You decide.
In a paper published online today in Current Biology, [cognitive neuroscientist Ryota Kanai and colleagues at University College London] report
stwo main findings: political conservatives tend to have a larger right amygdala, a region involved in detecting threats and responding to fearful stimuli, whereas liberals tend to have a larger anterior cingulate cortex, an area that becomes active in situations involving conflict or uncertainty.
In fact, the two disciplines work even better when you take them together. In a sense you could say that the new study corroborates what an earlier group found without using any expensive brain scanners.
The whiny kids tended to grow up conservative, and turned into rigid young adults who hewed closely to traditional gender roles and were uncomfortable with ambiguity.
The confident kids turned out liberal and were still hanging loose, turning into bright, non-conforming adults with wide interests. The girls were still outgoing, but the young men tended to turn a little introspective.
Block admits in his paper that liberal Berkeley is not representative of the whole country. But within his sample, he says, the results hold. He reasons that insecure kids look for the reassurance provided by tradition and authority, and find it in conservative politics. The more confident kids are eager to explore alternatives to the way things are, and find liberal politics more congenial.
To sum: uncertainty is frightening, and if you’re especially prone to get scared of things then you can cope by building a comfortable shell of certainty around yourself. Though the comfy shell makes you reactionary and resentful of change or new ideas, you do tend to sleep better.
It fits with what I already think so it must be true! YMMV.