Political Attitudes Vary with Physiological Traits

Authors

Douglas R. Oxley, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Kevin Smith, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
John R. Alford, Rice UniversityFollow
Matthew V. Hibbing, University of Illinois, Urbana-ChampaignFollow
Jennifer L. Miller, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Mario J. Scalora, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Peter K. Hatemi, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral GeneticsFollow
John R. Hibbing, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

ORCID IDs

Mario J. Scalora

Jennifer L. Miller

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

9-19-2008

Comments

Published in Science 321:5896 (September 19, 2008), pp. 1667–1670; doi 10.1126/science.1157627 Copyright © 2008 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Used by permission. http://www.sciencemag.org

Abstract

Although political views have been thought to arise largely from individuals’ experiences, recent research suggests that they may have a biological basis. We present evidence that variations in political attitudes correlate with physiological traits. In a group of 46 adult participants with strong political beliefs, individuals with measurably lower physical sensitivities to sudden noises and threatening visual images were more likely to support foreign aid, liberal immigration policies, pacifism, and gun control, whereas individuals displaying measurably higher physiological reactions to those same stimuli were more likely to favor defense spending, capital punishment, patriotism, and the Iraq War. Thus, the degree to which individuals are physiologically responsive to threat appears to indicate the degree to which they advocate policies that protect the existing social structure from both external (outgroup) and internal (norm-violator) threats.

Includes Supporting Materials.