Neuroscientist: Donald Trump's meteoric rise can be explained by 4 basic human instincts

[MrScorpio]

'We have the same brain we had 100,000 years ago when we were living on the plains of Africa'

Ashley Lutz, Business Insider 2 hours ago

Donald Trump's ascent from wealthy political outsider to Republican presidential nominee has confounded many Americans, as well as the political establishment.

But a neuroscientist says Trump's popularity can be explained by how he triggers certain emotions — anger, fear, and aggression — in the “fear center,” which is part of the limbic system in people's brains.

“We have the same brain we had 100,000 years ago when we were living on the plains of Africa,” R. Douglas Fields, neuroscientist and author of “Why We Snap,” told Business Insider. “These defensive triggers exist for a good purpose but politicians are pushing on them to motivate people to do what they want.”

Widespread modern fears — of terrorism, war, and gun violence — as well as economic uncertainty make people even more responsive these triggers.

Fields says Trump uses four main human instincts to get people's attention:

1. Being part of a tribe

“Any social animal is dependent on its group and will defend the group,” Fields said. “We live only because we're part of a society.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/neuroscientist-donald-trumps-meteoric-rise-can-be-explained-by-4-basic-human-instincts-a7165001.html

[treestar]

1. IOW the baser instincts

and this is supposed to be an advanced, civilized country.

[nolabear]

2. This is absolutely right on. We therapists work like mad to try to help people learn

to use the higher brain functions, the cerebral cortex, to take action to stop, think about the limbic reaction, assess whether the threat is real or the mind is experiencing a chemical rush that the rational part tries to explain in order to create a sense of safety. Then the actions taken have a far better chance at actually creating a change in the situation or in what actions can be taken.

People like Trump manipulate their victims (and victims they are, for many reasons) into what amounts to an ongoing, low level panic attack, so they are consumed with a sense that something terrible is about to happen, or is happening outside their awareness (paranoia: fear of everything, known and unknown). Depending on upbringing, earlier trauma, identification with family and societal safety nets (religion, guns, regionalism, patriotism, racial identity, etc.) the response to fear takes on whatever form it does. And that gives the manipulator more info on how to do a better job of controlling that fear response.

One of the hardest things for frightened people to do is to do exactly what Hillary's campaign is asking, and is the only thing that will change the state of the world for the better. If you open up, let your guard down, welcome the "other" and work to let those people who MIGHT now take advantage of you or kill you while your guard is down, then there is a possibility of co-existance without having to first conquer, and to move on to better the lives of everyone. Trump advocates "winning" but what he's actually saying is we have to conquer anyone who seeks to deal with us in any fashion, from immigrants to other nations. We have to be strong enough to kill them because they want to kill us. And he reminds people of that minute by minute, from the Khan family, who MIGHT be those people who won't let their women speak (and who knows what ELSE they'd do, and what if they take over and none of OUR women can speak?) to the fire marshall who wouldn't violate fire code for his rally (I'll bet he's a Hillary voter and it's a plot against us. We are in danger from plotters, folks!)

I know this is long but it's hard to sit back and see someone attempt to manipulate an entire country in the massively unhealthy, abusive way that I have seen people in my care manipulated for years. The manipulators? They don't come to therapy unless they think they can find a way to get what they want thereby. The solution? GET OUT.

[KittyWampus]

8. Thanks for you post. It's important to remember than humans have faculties available to transcend

the reptilian brain and those faculties need to be encouraged, trained and used.

Unfortunately, empathy etc are not necessarily valued responses.

[piechartking]

3. Unfortunately, this is also why

Flow charts, "Arguments for your Conservative Uncle" and other similar arguments don't work. These people are running for their lives, they're mourning the death of America.

What are you going to say to a person in that situation? Let's just hope there's not enough out there to actually win this election.

[PSPS]

4. LOL. "meteoric rise?" Not a serious article.

[JHB]

5. He's missing an important point...

Republicans have been working those factors for 50 years. They've built an entire framework around it to win elections.

Trump showed up at their stage and won the freak-them-out show.

[Bluenorthwest]

6. Metioric rise? Decades of active promotion of Trump by all manner of Americans including

many major Democrats created what you see today. Groups of protesters (DU hates protesters) have been targeting Trump as a bigoted predator for DECADES while others legitimized him and socialized with him, told the press they like to go golf with him. Those people all knew about his racist views and policies when they legitimized him.
Not a swift rise at all. Slow and methodical and with full warnings issued. Of course mainstream policy is 'Ignore those militant homosexual protesters and make friends with the man they protest'. And that's how you got your Donald.

[KittyWampus]

7. Those same instincts are displayed by my Healing Prayer Group. Just in a different direction.

There are those of us who respond to same instincts by drawing together and sending out positive energy.

Just because some humans respond by sending out divisive and negative energy doesn't mean that is the defacto human response.

It's the human response by those dominated by their reptile brain.