Republicans and Democrats Really Do Think Differently

Wired carried this story about scientists Drs. Joshua Freedman and Marco Iacoboni of the University of California at Los Angeles who scanned the brains of 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats. Each viewed images of President Bush, John Kerry and Ralph Nader.

When viewing their favorite candidate, all showed increased activity in the region implicated in empathy. And when viewing the opposition, all had increased blood flow in the region where humans consciously assert control over emotions ? suggesting the volunteers were actively attempting to dislike the opposition.

Nonetheless, some differences appeared between the brain activity of Democrats and Republicans. Take empathy: One Democrat’s brain lit up at an image of Kerry “with a profound sense of connection, like a beautiful sunset,” Freedman said. Brain activity in a Republican shown an image of Bush was “more interpersonal, such as if you smiled at someone and they smiled back.”

And when voters were shown a Bush ad that included images of the Sept. 11 attacks, the amygdala region of the brain ? which lights up for most of us when we see snakes ? illuminated more for Democrats than Republicans. The researchers’ conclusion: At a subconscious level, Republicans were apparently not as bothered by what Democrats found alarming.