Tradition holds that political views are a byproduct of personality, family values, and social experience. However, intriguing new research has demonstrated that there may be neural mechanisms underlying a person’s preference of one political view over another. An experiment conducted by David
Amodio, assistant professor of psychology at New York University, used a simple computer game of various political affiliations to test whether there was a correlation between those views and the brain. The game tested how participants were able to respond to information that contradicted an accepted pattern of belief systems by creating a natural situation of developing and breaking a pattern.
Amodio and colleagues scanned the brains of 43 subjects during 500 trials of a task designed to test their ability to break from a habitual response. Prior to the experiment, volunteers rated their political leanings based on a scale from negative five (very liberal) to positive five (very conservative). They were given a computerized test in which they were shown one of two stimuli for 100 milliseconds. If an “M” popped up on the screen, the respondent had 500 milliseconds to press a key on the keyboard. If a “W” appeared, the person was told to do nothing.
The task, known as “go/no-go,” is an example of “conflict monitoring.” This explains the situations where we must pay more attention to what is going on. Subjects became accustomed to pressing the button when they saw an “M,” which appeared 80 per cent of the time during the trials. Thus, when a “W” cropped up, participants faced a conflict between their trained response and a new stimulus.
During the course of the experiment, EEG scans monitored participant brain activity. The pattern that emerged dictated that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) played a vital role in the decision-making process. Amodio explained that the ACC activates and signals to other regions of the brain allowed adaptation according to a sudden change.
“The ACC turns off the autopilot and grabs the wheel,” he said.
Those who reported to be strong liberals generally completed the adaptive task more accurately, displaying higher activity in the ACC than conservatives. On average, people who described themselves as politically liberal boasted 2½ times more activity in their ACCs and were more sensitive to the “nogo” cue than their conservative counterparts.
Although understandably wary of generalizations, Amodio believes that these experiments provide valuable insight into the psychological basis of ideology and personality. He plans to conduct similar research with subjects who have a range of views on politically charged topics such as gun control.
