US EditionStudy Finds Extreme Left and Far Right More Alike than They Think
A study of 44 participants found that political extremists, regardless of ideology, show similar brain activity and heightened physiological arousal when viewing political content, supporting the horseshoe theory.
- Researchers FeldmanHall and de Bruin found that extreme liberals and conservatives process political information in similar ways during a study involving 44 participants watching a political video.
- The study utilized neuroimaging techniques alongside physiological monitoring and gaze tracking to investigate how deeply held convictions and emotional responses affect the way individuals perceive political information.
- Results showed that extreme participants exhibited synchronized brain activity and physiological arousal during the video, especially in segments with extreme language, unlike moderates who showed varied responses.
- FeldmanHall suggested that acknowledging common experiences may enhance understanding and lessen the tendency to view opposing political groups as less human, with the study’s results lending support to the horseshoe theory, which argues that political extremes share similarities more than they do with moderates.
- These findings imply that despite opposing views, political extremists share neural responses that could promote understanding and suggest further research beyond U.S.-based political content is needed.
Insights by Ground AI
Does this summary seem wrong?
26 Articles
26 Articles
Political polar opposites may be more alike than they think
The brains of politically extreme individuals, whether left- or right-leaning, appear to respond to and process political information in surprisingly similar ways, according to research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The paper is titled "Politically extreme individuals exhibit similar neural processing despite ideological differences."
·United Kingdom
Read Full ArticleCoverage Details
Total News Sources26
Leaning Left3Leaning Right4Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Center
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
50% Center
L 21%
C 50%
R 29%
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
