Neurocognitive correlates of liberalism and conservatism.
Political scientists and psychologists have noted that, on average, conservatives show more structured and persistent cognitive styles, whereas liberals are more responsive to informational complexity, ambiguity and novelty. We tested the hypothesis that these profiles relate to differences in general neurocognitive functioning using event-related potentials, and found that greater liberalism was associated with stronger conflict-related anterior cingulate activity, suggesting greater neurocognitive sensitivity to cues for altering a habitual response pattern.
Amodio
David M
DM
Department of Psychology, New York University, 6 Washington Place, New York, New York 10003, USA. david.amodio@nyu.edu
Jost
John T
JT
Master
Sarah L
SL
Yee
Cindy M
CM
D001931:Brain Mapping; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003265:Contingent Negative Variation / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007062:Identification, Psychological; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011057:Politics; D013223:Statistics as Topic