From U Nebraska: The deeper sources of political conflict: evidence from the psychological, cognitive, and neuro-sciences

Trends Cogn Sci. 2014 Mar;18(3):111-3. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2013.12.010.

The deeper sources of political conflict: evidence from the psychological, cognitive, and neuro-sciences.

Hibbing JR1, Smith KB2, Peterson JC2, Feher B2.

Author information

• 1Department of Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA. Electronic address: jhibbing@unl.edu.
• 2Department of Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA.

Abstract

Political disputes ruin family reunions, scuttle policy initiatives, and spur violence and even terrorism. We summarize recent research indicating that the source of political differences can be found in biologically instantiated and often subthreshold predispositions as reflected in physiological, cognitive, and neural patterns that incline some people toward innovation and others toward conservatism. These findings suggest the need to revise traditional views that maintain that political opinions are the product of rational, conscious, socialized thought.