The partisan brain: cognitive study suggests people on the left ...

When we speak about political partisanship, the labels of “left” and ... We set out to investigate the psychology of the “ideological mind” ... Menu Close Home Edition Africa Australia Canada Canada(français) España France Global Indonesia NewZealand UnitedKingdom UnitedStates Edition: Availableeditions Global Getnewsletter Becomeanauthor Signupasareader Signin EPA/JustinLane LeorZmigrod,UniversityofCambridge Author LeorZmigrod ResearchFellow,DepartmentofPsychology,UniversityofCambridge Disclosurestatement LeorZmigrodreceivesfundingfromGatesCambridgeTrust. Partners UniversityofCambridgeprovidesfundingasamemberofTheConversationUK. Viewallpartners Email Twitter Facebook LinkedIn WhatsApp Messenger Thisistheageofpartisanship.Asourbeliefsbecomeincreasinglypolarisedanddigitalechochambersbegintodictateourrealities,manyofusarefindingourselvesinadvertentpartisans.Inthistimeoffilterbubbles,wehavebeentaughttorelyontheleft-rightpoliticaldistinctionasanessentialtoolformeasuringwhoislikelytothinklikeusandwithwhomweshouldbond. Butpartisanshipisn’tjustamatterofdirection–thatis,whetherone’sbeliefsandidentityleanpoliticallyleftorright.Partisanshipalsohasasecond,oftenoverlooked,dimensioncapturedbytheintensityorextremityofone’sbeliefsandidentity. Forinstance,apersoncouldleanleftintheirpoliticalviewsandholdthesebeliefsstronglyanddogmatically,andanothercouldbepoliticallyright-wingbutfeelonlyaweakattachmenttoconservativepartiesandbereceptivetoalternativeviewpoints.Whenwespeakaboutpoliticalpartisanship,thelabelsof“left”and“right”arethereforeinsufficient:wemustconsiderbothpartisandirectionandextremity. Thepartisanbrain TheAmericanthinkerEricHofferbelievedwecouldgeneratedeepinsightsabouthumanhistory,psychology,andpoliticsbyexamininghowpeoplecometoholdextremeideologicalidentities. Inhisfamousbook,TheTrueBeliever(1951),Hofferarguedthatextremeadherentstoanideologyorpoliticalpartytendtohaveaparticularpsychologicalcharacterthatmakesthemsusceptibletojoininganyideologicalgroup,regardlessofthespecificbeliefsitadvocates.Hewrote: Allmovements,howeverdifferentindoctrineandaspiration,drawtheirearlyadherentsfromthesametypesofhumanity;theyallappealtothesametypesofmind. Whatarethecharacteristicsofthe“typeofmind”thatismostsusceptibletothinkinginextremeanddogmaticways?Hofferhypothesisedthatlowself-esteemandasenseofpersonalfrustrationarethekeyingredientsforideologicalextremity.MycolleaguesandIattheUniversityofCambridgedecidedtotakeadifferent,moremodernapproachtoansweringthisquestion,usingthetoolsofcognitivescience. Wesetouttoinvestigatethepsychologyofthe“ideologicalmind”andhypothesisedthatpartisanrigidityandextremitymightemergefromageneralpsychologicaltendencytoprocessinformationinrigidandinflexibleways. Accordingtotheneuropsychologicalliterature,anindividualwhoiscognitivelyrigidtendstoperceiveobjectsandstimuliinblack-and-whiteterms,andthismakesitdifficultforthemtoswitchbetweenmodesofthinkingortoadapttochangingenvironments. Wereasonedthatindividualswithatendencytowardscognitiverigidityinhowtheyperceiveandreacttotheworldgenerallymightbemorelikelytoberigidanddogmaticabouttheirpoliticalbeliefsandidentitiesaswell. Inarecentpublishedstudy,weinvited750UScitizenstocompletemultipleobjectiveneuropsychologicalteststhatallowustomeasuretheirindividuallevelsofcognitiverigidityandflexibility.WefoundthatindividualswhoareextremelyattachedtotheDemocraticpartyortotheRepublicanpartydisplaygreatermentalrigidityonthesecognitivetestsrelativetothosewhoareonlymoderatelyorweaklyattached.Regardlessofthedirectionandcontentoftheirpoliticalbeliefs,extremepartisanshadasimilarcognitiveprofile. Thissuggeststhatpartisanextremityispsychologicallysignificant–theintensitywithwhichweattachourselvestopoliticaldoctrinesmayreflectandshapethewayourmindworks,evenatthebasiclevelsofperceptionandcognition.Notably,thesefindingswouldhaveremainedhiddenifweonlyconsideredwhetherparticipantswerepoliticallyleft-orright-wing. Learningflexibility Theseresultspromptmanyquestionsabouttherelationshipbetweenourmindsandourpolitics.Thefirstisaquestionofcausality:doesengagementwithanextremeideologyleadtomentalrigidity?Ordoescognitiveinflexibilityfosteraproclivitytowardsideologicalextremism?Theanswerislikelytobe–asformostcomplexphenomena–aninteractionofboth.Scientifically,wewouldneedlongitudinalstudiesthattrackpeopleoverlongperiodsoftimetodeterminecauseandeffect. Proandanti-BrexitprotestorsshowtheircoloursoutsidetheUKparliament. EPA Wemightalsoconsiderwhetherthesefindingscanhelpuscountersomeofthenegativeaspectsoflivinginthepartisanage.Oneoftheneatpropertiesofcognitiveflexibilityisthatitis,initself,malleable.Studieshaveshownthateducationandtrainingcanhelpcultivateandamplifyourmentalflexibility,therebyimprovingourcapacitytoswitchbetweendifferentstylesofthinkingandadaptourbehaviourinthefaceofchangeanduncertainty.Wouldheighteningourflexibilityhelpustobuildmoretolerantandlessdogmaticsocieties? Whiletheconservatismorliberalismofourbeliefsmayattimesdivideus,ourcapacitytothinkabouttheworldflexiblyandadaptivelycanuniteus.Extremityineitherdirectioncanleadustoseetheworldinblackandwhiteandforgettoappreciatethosecrucialshadesofgreyinbetween. Yetitisoftenwithintheseintermediategreysthatwecanfindcreative,constructivesolutionstosocietaltroublesandremembertoplaceourcommonhumanityaboveabstractideals.Isittimeforanageofplasticitytoreplacetheageofpartisanship?Onlyifwelearntorecognisethat,despitethedifferencesthatsitontheoutside,wearemoresimilarthanwethinkwithin. Politics Cognitivepsychology Globalperspectives Events Moreevents Jobs ResearchFellow,AuthenticationTechnologies Lecturer/SeniorLecturerinMarketing ClinicalEducationStrategy&RiskProjectOfficer Dean,LearningandTeachingInnovation HealthEconomist Morejobs EditorialPolicies Communitystandards Republishingguidelines Analytics Ourfeeds Getnewsletter Whoweare Ourcharter Ourteam Partnersandfunders Resourceformedia Contactus ​ ​ ​