Your Body Holds Clues To Political Views
Whether you've got Barack Obama posters in your yard or John McCain stickers on the back of your car, your strong beliefs may be linked to your physiology.
A new study, published in Science, shows that Americans with strong political opinions whose bodies react more strongly to threatening pictures and sudden loud noises tended to support causes like defense spending and capital punishment.
The reason, the researchers suggest, is that these participants' views may be linked to a concern with protecting their group -- in this case the U.S. -- from perceived threats.
Those people with lesser physical reactions to threatening pictures and sounds were more likely to support causes such as gun control and foreign aid.
Douglas Oxley, from the department of political science at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a team of researchers studied 46 people with strong political beliefs. These participants, chosen for having strong political views, were identified through random phone calls in spring 2007. Participants filled out a questionnaire about their political beliefs, personality traits, and demographic characteristics.
Later, they were hooked up to machines to measure their physiological reactions to threatening stimuli, such as a picture of a large spider on the face of a frightened person, vs. nonthreatening stimuli, such as a picture of a rabbit.
The amount of reaction was measured by a machine that tests the conductivity of the skin . This is important because arousal can increase moisture on the outer layers of the skin, which then increases skin conductivity.
In another test, participants' blinks were measured after they heard an unexpected loud noise. Harder blinks are linked to higher level of fear, according to researchers.
The researchers emphasize that their findings can't confirm cause and effect.
So next time you are trying to convert a strong-minded friend to your way of political thinking, don't be disappointed if your best arguments are unsuccessful.
The authors conclude, "Our findings suggest that political attitudes vary with physiological traits linked to divergent manners of experiencing and processing environmental threats. Consequently, our research provides one possible explanation for both the lack of malleability in the beliefs of individuals with strong political convictions and for the associated ubiquity of political conflict."
By Caroline Wilbert
Reviewed by Louise Chang
?2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved
© 2008 WebMD, LLC.. All Rights Reserved. A new study, published in Science, shows that Americans with strong political opinions whose bodies react more strongly to threatening pictures and sudden loud noises tended to support causes like defense spending and capital punishment.
The reason, the researchers suggest, is that these participants' views may be linked to a concern with protecting their group -- in this case the U.S. -- from perceived threats.
Those people with lesser physical reactions to threatening pictures and sounds were more likely to support causes such as gun control and foreign aid.
Douglas Oxley, from the department of political science at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a team of researchers studied 46 people with strong political beliefs. These participants, chosen for having strong political views, were identified through random phone calls in spring 2007. Participants filled out a questionnaire about their political beliefs, personality traits, and demographic characteristics.
Later, they were hooked up to machines to measure their physiological reactions to threatening stimuli, such as a picture of a large spider on the face of a frightened person, vs. nonthreatening stimuli, such as a picture of a rabbit.
The amount of reaction was measured by a machine that tests the conductivity of the skin . This is important because arousal can increase moisture on the outer layers of the skin, which then increases skin conductivity.
In another test, participants' blinks were measured after they heard an unexpected loud noise. Harder blinks are linked to higher level of fear, according to researchers.
The researchers emphasize that their findings can't confirm cause and effect.
So next time you are trying to convert a strong-minded friend to your way of political thinking, don't be disappointed if your best arguments are unsuccessful.
The authors conclude, "Our findings suggest that political attitudes vary with physiological traits linked to divergent manners of experiencing and processing environmental threats. Consequently, our research provides one possible explanation for both the lack of malleability in the beliefs of individuals with strong political convictions and for the associated ubiquity of political conflict."
By Caroline Wilbert
Reviewed by Louise Chang
?2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved
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Hmmmm. Not too suprising, however, you wouldn''''t think so by reading these message boards, especially for the GOPers.
Posted by docpeter1953 at 12:05 PM : Sep 23, 2008
I took it as McCain supporters will spring into action when threatened or attacked while Oblama supporters will sit back, get high and let the bad guys walk up and cut our throats.
I guess it is from which perspective you read things. Keep calling yourself an independent. Your posts say otherwise. In fact you are starting to sound like the NY Times.
[Posted by NObama_SUX at 10:11 AM : Sep 23, 2008]
here''s the reason for your inability to rationalize anything of any real value (w/ 20 years of research behind it):
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/
"The studies explain so much about these people. Yes, the research shows they are very aggressive, but why are they so hostile? Yes, experiments show they are almost totally uninfluenced by reasoning and evidence, but why are they so dogmatic? Yes, studies show the Religious Right has more than its fair share of hypocrites, from top to bottom; but why are they two-faced, and how come one face never notices the other? Yes, their leaders can give the flimsiest of excuses and even outright lies about things they%u2019ve done wrong, but why do the rank-and-file believe them? What happens when authoritarian followers find the authoritarian leaders they crave and start marching together?"
Posted by presjfk at 10:42 AM : Sep 23, 2008
______________
I have done this during better economic times. I use to giv 5% of my paycheck to a Right To Life group. Unfortunately my paycheck doesn''t support this anymore.
I am anti-abortion, I am also a Christian who wishes he could do more. I also am NOT a GOPer or liberal. I am an independent.
The reason, the researchers suggest, is that these participants'' views may be linked to a concern with protecting their group -- in this case the U.S. -- from perceived threats.
Those people with lesser physical reactions to threatening pictures and sounds were more likely to support causes such as gun control and foreign aid."
_________________
So in other words, the McCain suporters are a bunch of scardy cat pus5ies, while the Obama supporters are confident, stable and fearless.
Hmmmm. Not too suprising, however, you wouldn''t think so by reading these message boards, especially for the GOPers.
I guess you want to live in a country where your political party fleeces the American people, create endless wars, destroy our economy, where the rich get richer, the middle class and poor become poorer, where the rich control all, the multinationals control congress, and where the president of the country doesn''t have a command of the English language and doesn''t care if his last 2 supporters are his wife and dog? The Republicans have spent $9 trill in 8 years and that doesn''t include the bailouts.
That is where we are right now but yet you hate democrats and Obama. Exactly what have the Republicans done in the last 8 years you are so happy with? Did the Republicans pull themselves up by their bootstraps or did they pull themselves up with all of ours? Can''t you get past the ideology of a party that says they want smaller government, reduced spending and tax cuts but deliver on none of these things but the exact opposite?
I guess you want to live in a country where your political party fleeces the American people, create endless wars, destroy our economy, where the rich get richer, the middle class and poor become poorer, where the rich control all, the multinationals control congress, and where the president of the country doesn''t have a command of the English language and doesn''t care if his last 2 supporters are his wife and dog? The Republicans have spent $9 trill in 8 years and that doesn''t include the bailouts.
That is where we are right now but yet you hate democrats and Obama. Exactly what have the Republicans done in the last 8 years you are so happy with? Did the Republicans pull themselves up by their bootstraps or did they pull themselves up with all of ours? Can''t you get past the ideology of a party that says they want smaller government, reduced spending and tax cuts but deliver on none of these things but the exact opposite?
I guess you want to live in a country where your political party fleeces the American people, create endless wars, destroy our economy, where the rich get richer, the middle class and poor become poorer, where the rich control all, the multinationals control congress, and where the president of the country doesn''t have a command of the English language and doesn''t care if his last 2 supporters are his wife and dog? The Republicans have spent $9 trill in 8 years and that doesn''t include the bailouts.
That is where we are right now but yet you hate democrats and Obama. Exactly what have the Republicans done in the last 8 years you are so happy with? Did the Republicans pull themselves up by their bootstraps or did they pull themselves up with all of ours? Can''t you get past the ideology of a party that says they want smaller government, reduced spending and tax cuts but deliver on none of these things but the exact opposite?
How about one that reveals the real reason so many Demoturds are so pro baby slaughtering is because they know it reduces the competition they (who managed to escape the womb without being murdered) will have less competition for access to the public nipple. Posted by NObama_SUX "
You do understand that even if abortion became illegal, it would be rampant across the country and the world despite the law, don''t you? Drug laws, speed limit laws, drinking laws haven''t ended those issues and abortion laws wouldn''t stop abortion.
You are so concerned about abortion? So what have you done to turn the tide of abortion except maybe support bombing abortion clinics or voted for politicians that try to destroy the constitution, destroy our economy and support endless war but want your one issue, a reversal of Roe vs. Wade? Does nothing else matter?
If you are so fired up about abortions, how about supporting impoverished mothers with your own wallet, show some compassion for orphaned children by adopting some and volunteer to help these people? Of course you are all talk.
You need to get out more.