Primal Propensity for Disgust Shapes Political Positions

[n2doc]

Though people like to believe their convictions are purely rational, a growing body of research links political differences to deep-seated physiological traits.

The latest such finding comes from a study of people who looked at gross images, such as a man eating earthworms. Viewers who self-identified as conservative, especially those opposing gay marriage, reacted with particularly deep disgust.

The study “suggests that people’s physiological predispositions help to shape their political orientations,” wrote the researchers, who were led by University of Nebraska-Lincoln political scientists Kevin Smith and John Hibbing. “Disgust likely has an effect even without registering in conscious beliefs.”

Published Oct. 19 in Public Library of Science One, Smith and Hibbing’s findings are the latest datapoint in a series of investigations into neurophysiological aspects of morality and, by extension, politics. Other researchers have found that conservatives seemingly tend to have a more rigid, structured cognitive style than liberals, who are more open to ambiguity; conservatives are also quicker to feel threatened.

more

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/disgust-and-politics/#more-81723

[rfranklin]

1. Disgust is relative...conservatives are disgusted by people of color...

gay people, poor people, etc. Liberals are disgusted by greed, exploitation, war and religious insanity.

[Odin2005]

2. This is why bigots always call the people they hate "dirty", "filthy", and "stinking".

And also why "sin" and "immorality" is associated with "dirtiness".

I wonder if there is a correlation between bigotry and OCD behavior involving cleanliness compulsions.

[PETRUS]

3. Pinker talks about this kind of thing in a couple of books.

There are a few other ways our basic wiring can lead us astray. I always wonder if knowledge and understanding about it could help societies organize better.