Lecture 12: neuropolitics

Transcription

Political Psychology
Ryan D. Enos
Harvard University
Department of Government
March 7, 2013
Enos
Question for today:
1
2
Do Republicans and
Democrats have different
brains?
Why do we care if
Republicans and Democrats
have different brains?
Enos
2
image removed for posting on World Wide Web
neuropolitics
“The brain is the most complicated object in the universe.”
–Charles Berber
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Goals of lecture today:
You will . . .
Have a basic understanding of behavioral neuroscience.
Be aware of prominent applications of neuroscience to the
study of politics.
Recognize the potential implications of this approach for the
larger study of political psychology.
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behavioral v cognitive approaches
behavioral
stimulus
>
> response
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behavioral v cognitive approaches
behavioral
stimulus
>
> response
>
> response
cognitive
stimulus
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behavioral neuroscience
behavioral neuroscience
The application of the study
of the brain to the study of
behavior.
Important for our purposes:
certain regions of the brain
are associated with certain
cognitive activity and certain
physical functions.
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example of possible application
Affective Intelligence (Marcus, Neuman, and MacKuen, 2000)
political consequences of surveillance system
Enos andLecture
12: neuropolitics
(Marcus, Neuman,
MacKuen,
2000)
19
example of possible application
Affective Intelligence (Marcus, Neuman, and MacKuen, 2000)
but what about this?
emotion ..........................................
> vote
economy
> emotion
>
<
affective intelligence model
> vote
economy
Can behavioral neuroscience help us resolve this problem?
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behavioral neuroscience: measurement
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Uses magnetic and radio fields to alter
the magnetic alignment of some nuclei
in the body. This creates a rotating
magnetic field that can be measured
and reconstructed into an image.
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functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(fMRI)
Similar to MRI, but relies on the brain’s
use of oxygen.
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(fMRI)
use of oxygen.
levels of oxygenization in blood can
be measured
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(fMRI)
use of oxygen.
be measured
the magnetic distortion caused by
excited hydrogen molecules in a
oxygenated environment is
compared to a baseline
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(fMRI)
use of oxygen.
be measured
yields a spatial and temporal
understanding of Oxygen use
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(fMRI)
use of oxygen.
be measured
yields a spatial and temporal
understanding of Oxygen use
the spatial and temporal pattern
allows correlation with physical
regions of the brain and external
stimuli
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(Duff Hendrickson, University of Washington)
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How to connect regions of the brain to mind or behavior?
typical fMRI behavioral study sequence
(Kato, et al (2009))
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But how do we know the brain does that there?
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Phineas Gage
lesion studies
Observe behavior after a section of
the brain has been damaged
(surgically or accidentally).
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association
Measure brain activity after exposure
to stimuli with known behavioral or
emotional associations.
image removed for posting on
World Wide Web
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limitations to fMRI studies
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expensive (this has practical and scientific
consequences: few subjects, homogenous
samples, lack of replication, etc.)
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limitation in measurement
these images are actually statistical
models (subject to uncertainty)
parts of brain can be used for more than
one process
time resolution can be inaccurate
tremendous variation across individuals
neuroscientists disagree about certain
brain physiology
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limitation in measurement
these images are actually statistical
models (subject to uncertainty)
parts of brain can be used for more than
one process
time resolution can be inaccurate
tremendous variation across individuals
neuroscientists disagree about certain
brain physiology
Brain physiology can be responsible for
behaviors and behaviors can be
responsible for brain physiology
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the brain and the mind
“We are still clueless about how the brain represents the context of
our thoughts and feelings. Yes, we can know where jealously
happens – or visual images or spoken words – but ‘where’ is not
the same as ‘how’ ”.
–Steven Pinker
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Neuropolitics findings
partisan evaluations of risk (Schreiber, et al,
2009)
Republicans and Democrats use different
portions of the brain when evaluating risk –
Democrats use insular cortex, while
Republicans use amygdala.
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brain structures of young adults (Kanai, et al,
2011)
Conservatives and liberals actually have
different brain structures.
Conservatives have larger amygdala
(associated with fear processing).
Liberals have larger anterior cortex
(associated with monitoring uncertainty).
They confirmed this out of sample!
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brain structures of young adults (Kanai, et al,
2011)
Conservatives brain structure associated
with fear processing.
Liberals brains structure associated with
monitoring uncertainty.
Does this fit your intuition?
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partisan reaction to contradictions (Westen, et
al, 2006)
When presented with contradictory
information about partisan candidate,
respondents use emotional region of the brain.
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Westen, et al, 2006
Initial “First of all, Ken Lay is a supporter of mine. I love the
man. I got to know Ken Lay years ago, and he has given
generously to my campaign. When I’m President, I plan to
run the government like a CEO runs a country. Ken Lay and
Enron are a model of how I’ll do that.”
–Candidate George Bush, 2000
Contradictory Mr. Bush now avoids any mention of Ken Lay
and is critical of Enron when asked.
Exculpatory People who know the President report that he
feels betrayed by Ken Lay, and was genuinely shocked to find
that Enron’s leadership had been corrupt.
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Westen, et al, 2006
Initial During the 1996 campaign, Kerry told a Boston Globe
reporter that the Social Security system should be overhauled.
He said Congress should consider raising the retirement age
and meanstesting benefits. “I know it’s going to be
unpopular,” he said. “But we have a generational
responsibility to fix this problem.”
Contradictory This year, on Meet the Press, Kerry pledged
that he will never tax or cut benefits to seniors or raise the
age for eligibility for Social Security.
Exculpatory Economic experts now suggest that, in fact, the
Social Security system will not run out of money until 2049,
not 2020, as they had thought in 1996.
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partisan reaction to contradictions
(Westen, et al, 2006)
respondents use emotional region of the
brain.
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brain.
question:
Is this relevant to any studies we have
seen previously?
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brain.
question:
Is this relevant to any studies we have
seen previously?
answer:
Yes! Why do partisans resist
information that is inconsistent with
their predispositions?
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neural reaction to candidate faces (Spezio, et
al, 2008)
Images of losing candidates stimulate
emotional regions of the brain, but not images
of winning candidates.
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Spezio, et al, 2008
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neural reaction to candidate faces
(Spezio, et al, 2008)
Images of losing candidates
stimulate emotional regions of the
brain, but not images of winning
candidates.
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candidates.
question:
Is this relevant to any studies we
have seen previously?
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candidates.
question:
Is this relevant to any studies we
have seen previously?
answer:
Yes! It tells us how the face vote
correlation might operate, e.g.: are
voters rewarding or punishing?
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What about the external validity of these studies?
Is the fMRI experience itself
a good approximation of the
political world? Does it
matter?
What type of processing is
studied in fMRI studies? Is
this the relevant type of
processing in the political
world?
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What can Neuropolitics tell us about democracy, Mr. Madison?
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What can Neuropolitics tell us about democracy, Mr. Madison?
Federalist 10
The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of
man; and we see them everywhere brought into different
degrees of activity, according to the different circumstances
of civil society . . . So strong is this propensity of mankind
to fall into mutual animosities, that where no substantial
occasion presents itself, the most frivolous and fanciful
distinctions have been sufficient to kindle their unfriendly
passions and excite their most violent conflicts . . .
It is in vain to say that enlightened statesmen will be able
to adjust these clashing interests, and render them all
subservient to the public good. . . .
The inference to which we are brought is, that the causes
of faction cannot be removed, and that relief is only to be
sought in the means of controlling its effects . . .
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What do these studies tell us about how to campaign?
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What do these studies tell us about free-will?
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So what?
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46
Question for today:
1
2
Do Republicans and
Democrats have different
brains?
Why do we care if
Republicans and Democrats
have different brains?
Enos
47

Lecture 12: neuropolitics

Transcription

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