Lecture 12: Neuropolitics

Transcription

Political Psychology
Ryan D. Enos
Harvard University
Department of Government
March 12, 2015
While waiting for the lecture to begin . . .
Please obtain notes about midterm and read carefully.
Enos
2
Midterm Example
Minutia (don’t need this level of knowledge)
“Todorov et al (2005) exposed subjects to photographs of members of
the House of Representatives from which years?”
1 1998 and 2000
2 2000 and 2002
3 2002 and 2004
4 2004 and 2006
Specificity (do need this level of knowledge)
“For how long did Todorov et al (2005) expose subjects to photographs
of members of the House of Representatives?”
1 1 second
2 10 seconds
3 between 25 and 45 seconds
4 1 minute
Enos
3
Questions for Today:
1
2
Do Republicans and
Democrats have different
brains?
Why do we care if
Republicans and Democrats
have different brains?
Enos
4
image removed for posting on World Wide Web
Neuropolitics and the Complexity of the Brain
“The brain is the most complicated object in the universe.”
–Christof Koch
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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
>
> response
Cognitive
stimulus
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Behavioral v Cognitive Approaches
Behavioral
stimulus
>
> response
>
> response
Cognitive
stimulus
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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 of Behavioral
Neuroscience to Politics (Neuropolitics)
Affective Intelligence: political consequences of Surveillance
and Dispositional Systems
Yearly survey responses by level of economic prosperity (Marcus, Neuman, and
MacKuen, 2000)
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Affective Intelligence
Is emotion the intervening mechanism between the economy and
incumbent vote?
But what about this?
Affective Intelligence Model
emotion .........................................
> vote
> emotion
>
<
economy
> vote
economy
Can behavioral neuroscience help us resolve this problem?
Enos
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Affective Intelligence
Is emotion the intervening mechanism between the economy and
incumbent vote?
But what about this?
Affective Intelligence Model
emotion .........................................
> vote
> emotion
>
<
economy
> vote
economy
Can behavioral neuroscience help us resolve this problem?
Enos
22
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.
• levels of oxygenization in blood can be
measured
• the magnetic distortion caused by
excited hydrogen molecules in a
oxygenated environment is compared
to a baseline
• 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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(fMRI)
of oxygen.
measured
to a baseline
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(fMRI)
of oxygen.
measured
to a baseline
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(fMRI)
of oxygen.
measured
to a baseline
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(fMRI)
of oxygen.
measured
to a baseline
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(Duff Hendrickson, University of Washington)
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typical fMRI behavioral study sequence
(Kato, et al (2009))
Kato, et al (2009)), negative ads are associated with the
pre-frontal cortex, the region of the brain also associated with
conflict monitoring.
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How do we know that region of the
brain is associated with that mental
activity (or behavior)?
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How to connect regions of the brain to mind or behavior?
Phineas Gage
Lesion Studies
Observe behavior after a section of
the brain has been damaged
(surgically or accidentally).
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How to connect regions of the brain to mind or behavior?
Association
image removed for posting on
World Wide Web
Measure brain activity after exposure
to stimuli with known behavioral or
emotional associations.
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Limitations to fMRI Studies
• expensive (this has practical and scientific
consequences: few subjects, homogenous
samples, lack of replication, etc.)
• 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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one process
brain physiology
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one process
brain physiology
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one process
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, 2013)
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.
Is this consistent with the Oxley,
et Al (2008) findings (“Political
attitudes vary with physiological
traits”)?
2 Does this fit with your intuition?
1
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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)
When presented with contradictory information about partisan candidate,
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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Question:
Answer:
predispositions?
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Question:
Answer:
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.
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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candidates.
Question:
Answer:
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candidates.
Question:
Answer:
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What about the external
validity of these studies?
Enos
1
Is the fMRI experience itself
a good approximation of the
political world? Does it
matter?
2
What type of processing is
studied in fMRI studies? Is
this the relevant type of
processing in the political
world?
42
What can Neuropolitics tell us
about democracy, Mr.
Madison?
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What can Neuropolitics tell us about
democracy, Mr. Madison?
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
...
Federalist 10
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What do neuropolitics
studies tell us about how
to campaign?
Enos
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Giuliani Campaign Commercial
(2008)
What do
neuropolitics
studies tell us about
how to campaign?
Enos
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What do these studies tell us
about free-will?
Enos
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So what?
Enos
1
With a modern
understanding of biology, is
there any reason we
wouldn’t believe the mind
has physiological correlates?
2
Does this changes anything
about politics?
48
Questions for Today:
1
2
Do Republicans and
Democrats have different
brains?
Why do we care if
Republicans and Democrats
have different brains?
Enos
49

Lecture 12: Neuropolitics

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