Study: Liberals are more emotion-driven than conservatives

[progressoid]

Liberals are more emotion-driven than conservatives

Researchers at Tel Aviv University and the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya have studied the interaction between emotion and political ideology, showing that the motivating power of emotions is not the same for those on different ends of the ideological spectrum. Their research is published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

The researchers conducted six studies to examine emotions, ideology, and how they act together to affect support for policies. The first two studies focused on intergroup empathy, while the third study examined the interactive influence of ideology and despair on support for policies. Participants self-identified as being at different points of the right-left ideological spectrum.

Specific scenarios were selected for the six studies relating to current events in Israel, mainly surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and possible steps towards its resolution. Lead researcher Ruthie Pliskin elaborates on why the specific scenarios were chosen; "We selected our different scenarios with the aim of tackling both positive and negative developments in intergroup conflicts, eliciting a range of different emotions towards the out-group and the situation, referring to different types of out-groups, and among different in-groups. Furthermore, we wanted to utilize both contrived, controlled scenarios, and major real-world developments, reflecting real and possible political developments."

...

Results of the study

In line with previous scientific knowledge on the relative rigidity of rightist ideological beliefs, the first three studies illustrate that induced emotions have a greater influence on leftists' positions than on rightists' positions, even though the experimental manipulations affected levels of emotion similarly for all participants. Even the third study, in which a negative emotion was induced, led to changes in policy support only among leftists, as was the case with empathy in the first two studies. Induced empathy toward both Palestinians (study 1) and asylum-seekers (study 2) led to increased support for conciliatory and humanitarian policies among leftists, whereas induced despair (study 3) decreased support for conciliatory policies only among leftists.

Studies 4 through 6 looked at real-world scenarios, and found that Jewish-Israeli leftists' policy support was more related to both empathy and anger than rightists', at times of both peace efforts (study 4) and war (study 5). The final study found the same pattern of results with regard to fear among a different population, demonstrating that the interactive effect of ideology and emotion on policy support is not limited to a given population nor to emotions typically associated with leftist ideology.

Ms. Pliskin and her colleagues believe that these results may apply to other cultures, including liberals and conservatives in the U.S. "We would expect to find similar results among rightists and leftists in other cultures, including conservatives and liberals in the U.S., because of the cross-cultural similarities in the superstructure of ideology and the needs associated with rightist versus leftist ideology--and because of how these factors relate to emotional processes and their outcomes." But Ms. Pliskin does caution that more research would need to be done to determine if there are cultural factors that may limit or increase observed left-right differences.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141107091559.htm

[Orsino]

1. The word they're fumbling toward is empathy. n/t

[Xipe Totec]

3. ^^ That ^^

[BillZBubb]

2. Other studies have found just the opposite.

The conservative is dominated by fear. They are easily manipulated by that emotion. The primitive region of their brain, which handles fear is very sensitive. They aren't moved at all by empathy.

[ZombieHorde]

4. Seems to me many liberals are motivated by emotion too.

Go visit the gun forum or the Israel/Palestine forum and you will see a lot of emotional arguments from both sides.

[BillZBubb]

6. Everyone is to some degree.

The difference is in the sensitivity to it.

[ZombieHorde]

7. I agree with that.

I know I use emotion as part of my political biases.

[True Blue Door]

9. Conservative emotions are the "reptilian" ones - fear, hate, violent predatory instinct.

Liberal emotions are the more mammalian ones, like love, curiosity, empathy, protectiveness toward the weak, etc. We only tend to come by the reptilian emotions when someone arrogantly tramples on who and what we love. "Someone" of course meaning conservatives. Wretched pack of fucking alligators.

[Chemisse]

10. I agree!

Using the word 'emotions' in the study is misleading, to say the least.

[misterhighwasted]

5. Liberal's DNA does not have that "a**hole gene

From all my observations over the years.

[MisterP]

8. precisely--emotion rooted in events, rather than concocted and whipped up by demagogues