It is abundantly clear that Democrats and Republicans have vastly different opinions. Discussions bloom into heated arguments, and it is near impossible to end a political discussion with a consensus that's more significant than to “agree to disagree.” Why is this? Discussions and debates should logically be meant for individuals to understand and become educated about different perspectives, is there a reason this rarely occurs? Is there a correlation between political involvement and individual psychologies? Or does it differ between different opinions?
In short, there is a correlation and a relationship between political identification and personal psychology. Especially in terms of liberal and conservative opinions, there have been psychological trends in individuals that correlate with certain beliefs. For instance, liberals are generally more creative and curious about the world around them, while conservatives tend to be more driven by fear or stress [4,6]. This could explain why conservative beliefs are generally more resistant to change, especially socially, and have strong connections to the past [1], which in turn creates strong sentiment towards political slogans or ideas, like President Trump’s campaign promise to “Make America Great Again.” Similarly, conservatives tend to have very focused and reliably consistent ideas relating their self-identity and values; it was found that conservatives associated their beliefs and values with words like honor, tradition, and religion [6].
Contrastingly, liberals are much more open to change and tend to feel safer and more confident about the amount of control they have in both daily tasks and their general livelihoods [4]. In the same studies that found the words which conservatives associate themselves with, liberals were found to describe themselves as loving and compassionate [6,11]. Furthermore, the circle that liberals empathize with has been found to be more extensive than liberals, reaching “non-human and imaginary subjects like animals and aliens” [6]. This logically connects to the lesser feeling of fear, as conservative ideologies show a need to prioritize themselves and their closest ones out of their comparatively cynical view of the world [2,13].
Physically, these traits have been noticeable through research of brain structure using MRI scanning. In liberals, there is a larger gray matter volume of anterior cingulate cortex, which has been associated with feelings of pain, or empathy, and impulse control. Contrastingly, conservatives have increased right amygdala sizes, which has a correlation with stronger reactions to fearful or negative stimuli [9].
Overall, such research seems to be taken advantage of in political campaigns and the media to garner support from each side [3]. As Psychology Today describes, conservatives are “pro-family because being surrounded by close relatives is the best defense against threats that surround them” [2]. Conservatives have been shown to view social inequalities - where the status quo is frequently challenged - to be zero sum, that is, one party can only gain if another party loses [7]. On the other hand, liberal media and politicians trends towards focusing on the need for change, and drawing empathy for larger, marginalized groups [5,12].
While it may feel like political divisions are currently at an all-time high, John Hibbing, a political scientist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, argues that “we have always had this very same division, this very basic difference between people who are fairly sensitive to threats and think we need to be vigilant and those people who are more into experimentation and trying new things” [8]. But what if we could use this information to instead alleviate tensions and partisan thinking? With an understanding of our common differences—that our political opponents are not inherently bad people but simply view the world differently—we can finally begin to bridge the gap that divides us, even if we ultimately disagree with their conclusions.
References
Andreasson, S. Conservatism. Political Ideologies: An Introduction 2014, 47–70.
Barber, N. Why Liberal Hearts Bleed and Conservatives Don't.; 2012 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-human-beast/201210/why-liberal-hearts-bleed-and-conservatives-dont
Bovard, J. Why Presidents Want You Scared: James Bovard. https://mises.org/power-market/why-presidents-want-you-scared (accessed Oct 16, 2020).
Brueck, H. A Yale psychologist's simple thought experiment temporarily turned conservatives into liberals. https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-turn-conservatives-liberal-john-bargh-psychology-2017-10 (accessed Oct 16, 2020).
Brueck, H. Scientists have discovered two simple psychological differences that make you liberal or conservative. https://www.businessinsider.com/liberals-and-conservatives-process-disgust-and-empathy-differently-2018-1 (accessed Oct 16, 2020).
Brueck, H. These key psychological differences can determine whether you're liberal or conservative. https://www.businessinsider.com/psychological-differences-between-conservatives-and-liberals-2018-2 (accessed Oct 16, 2020).
Davidai, S.; Ongis, M. The Politics of Zero-Sum Thinking: The Relationship between Political Ideology and the Belief That Life Is a Zero-Sum Game. Science Advances 2019, 5 (12).
Hibbing, J. Nature, Nurture And Your Politics. NPR, 2018.
Kanai, R.; Feilden, T.; Firth, C.; Rees, G. Political Orientations Are Correlated with Brain Structure in Young Adults. Current Biology 2011, 21 (8), 677–680.
Kiley, G. Political polarization? Don't blame the web, Brown study says. https://www.brown.edu/news/2017-03-20/internetpolarization (accessed Oct 16, 2020).
Public Opinion on Patriotism, Personal Traits, Lifestyles and Demographics. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2014/06/26/section-9-patriotism-personal-traits-lifestyles-and-demographics/ (accessed Oct 16, 2020).
Teaching the Children: Sharp Ideological Differences, Some Common Ground. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2014/09/18/teaching-the-children-sharp-ideological-differences-some-common-ground/ (accessed Oct 16, 2020).
Waytz, A.; Iyer, R.; Young, L.; Haidt, J.; Graham, J. Ideological Differences in the Expanse of the Moral Circle. Nature Communications 2019, 10 (1).