Brain type may dictate politicsAlok Jha, science correspondent
The GuardianMonday September 10 2007
Political differences might be explained by a fundamental variation in how our brains are "wired" to process information, according to a study published today.
Scientists have found that the brains of people calling themselves liberals are more able to handle conflicting and unexpected information than the brains of their conservative counterparts. The study points to a likely neurological basis for complex personality and behavioural traits.
David Amodio, of New York University, writing in the journal Nature Neuroscience, says conservatives were found to be "more structured and persistent in their judgments"; in tests they had "higher average scores" on measures of the personal need for "order, structure and closure". Liberals showed "higher tolerance of ambiguity and complexity".
Dr Amodio asked 43 volunteers to press a button on seeing a frequent cue - that caused an habitual response. A less frequent cue required no button pressing. Electroencephalograms revealed liberals were more likely to withhold the habitual response and had more activity in a part of the brain involved in conflict monitoring.
The study is not conclusive, Dr Amodio says, but it is possible that political orientation to some degree reflects a person's style of information processing.
