How Conservatives and Liberals Organize Into Social Groups - Part 1
Few things have the evolutionary value of social life. Humans are unique in their propensity to organize into multiple social groups, maintaining different sets of behaviors and status levels within those groups, and terminating or initiating participation in those groups at a rapid pace. The communal and affiliative behaviors associated with family groups break down quickly within large groups, as competitive behaviors propagate in proportion to group size and genetic variation within the group.
Humans would have to address these issues, especially since the value of large social groups would skyrocket with the development of language. Humans would inherit a lot of primate social behaviors, but the development of language would quickly challenge the overt dominance behaviors that formed the backbone of food distribution and sexual selection. A powerful and physically dominant human was no match for a group of humans using language to coordinate their activities. Conservatives, Liberals, and Moderates are the remnants of this long evolution of human social behavior. The question is, do they organize into social groups in the same way?
In our Winter 2006 survey, we found that Conservatives were more likely to own dogs and Liberals were more likely to own cats. We also found that the Very Conservative males had the highest preference for dogs over cats, and the Very Liberal females had the highest preference for cats over dogs. Is this an idle coincidence, or is this another difference in how Conservatives and Liberals think?
Dogs, if unencumbered by their owners, will quickly organize into small packs with a hierarchical dominance structure. Dogs are about 15,000 years removed from their wolf ancestry, and still carry forward the dominance and submissive behaviors that were so necessary in maintaining the cooperative hunting tactics of the wolf packs.
These behaviors were instrumental in the wolf's rapid integration into human captivity. The wolf pack will typically consist of a small band of closely related wolves, with an alpha male and female that will be the only pack members that can breed.
The alpha male will typically control the pack resources and the pack's current activities, as the chain of dominance and share of food will pass down to the beta and finally to the lowest of wolves--the omega. The omega wolf is constantly on the verge of banishment from the pack depending on the food supply.
But wolf behavior is heavily influenced by the large size of their prey, which requires cooperative hunting techniques, and therefore an organized social structure. Dogs will revert back to this social structure in the absence of humans.
Cats are a different matter. Cooperative hunting is rare, since cats, unlike lions, hunt game smaller than themselves. Consequently, their loose social structure is based more on sexual selection and kitten management. Cats, like humans, exhibit strong variations in social behavior, such as aggressiveness and shyness.
Feline aggressiveness and shyness are surprisingly distributed throughout each litter, an indication of some biological process that may be polarizing the personalities of litter mates. Whether this also applies to humans is a matter of speculation, but wide personality variations in children within the same family are quite common.
Feline submissive behaviors are not as obvious to humans as are canine, and tend to involve subtle rubbing, grooming, or body and tail movements. Unlike wolves, physically dominant members of feline communities typically have no food acquisition value, and are usually avoided.
Cats, while less likely to engage in canine-like dominance and submission behaviors, are more territorial than dogs, and will stake out areas even in the midst of high-density feline environments. They will also engage in territory-sharing with selected other cats, usually closely related, which function to better control their territory against intruders.
The Territorial Liberal, the Hierarchical Conservative?
The Conservative males were indeed more likely to prefer dogs over cats, especially the Very Conservative males. Please refer to the graph below:
Percentage Owning Cats and Dogs (Blue=Dogs, Green=Cats) (VL=Very Liberal, L=Liberal, C=Conservative, VC=Very Conservative) (M=Male, F=Female)The Conservative females were slightly more likely to select dogs over cats, and the Very Conservative females were equal in their preferences, although they reported the lowest rate of pet ownership.
The Liberal males were about equal in their preferences, and the Very Liberal males had a significant preference for cats. The regular Liberal females had a noted preference for cats, and the Very Liberal females had a strong preference for cats.
So what is driving the Conservative preference for dogs over cats? Is it the dog's pack-oriented nature and prominent submissive behaviors? Could this be an indicator of the Conservative's stronger propensity to organize into pack-like social structures?
Conversely, what is driving the Liberal's preference for cats? Does the Liberal have a stronger aversion to pack-like hierarchical organizations and an attraction to feline-like territorial-based social organization? Let's look at some of the other cognitive evidence we've collected that may support this hypothesis.
The Social Value of the Rich and Powerful
In our Spring 2005 survey, we asked Conservatives and Liberals to respond Yes or No to the following statement: I may not like a President, but it is my duty to support him. We see the Yes responses to this question in the graph below.
Duty to Support the President (VL=Very Liberal, L=Liberal, C=Conservative, VC=Very Conservative) (M=Male, F=Female)The Liberals have a very low propensity to support a President with contrary politics. On the other hand, Conservatives have a much higher tendency to support a politically undesirable leader and consider it a "duty".
In general, the Liberal's more negative view of a politically undesirable President extends to most people in positions of power. This is evident from our Winter 2006 survey, when we asked whether the rich and powerful take advantage of people, provide jobs and management skills, or both? In the graph below, we see the results.
The Rich and Powerful (Blue=Take Advantage, Red=Provide Jobs, Green=Both) (VL=Very Liberal, L=Liberal, C=Conservative, VC=Very Conservative) (M=Male, F=Female) (Not Sure responses are not shown)The Liberals, especially the Very Liberals, are more inclined to believe that the rich and powerful have a negative social value, as they have the highest rate of "take advantage of people" responses. Conversely, the Conservatives, especially the Very Conservatives, have a strong social valuation of the rich and powerful, and have the highest "provide jobs" responses.
However, the Liberals, on average, tend to ascribe some social valuation to the rich and powerful, as indicated by their high rate of responding "both". The regular Conservatives were more likely to respond "both" than "provide jobs", indicative of a lower social valuation than the Very Conservatives.
Organized High School Sports Participation
The evolutionary value of organizing into social groups to achieve common objectives is very high. Participation in team sports is an indicator of this tendency, especially in males. Conservative males have a much stronger propensity to engage in team sports, as can be seen in the graph below.
Percentage Participating in High School Sports (VL=Very Liberal, L=Liberal, C=Conservative, VC=Very Conservative) (M=Male, F=Female)As we see, the female Liberals hold a small edge in high school sports participation. The male Conservatives have a substantial elevation relative to the male Liberals.
Discussion
The idea that Conservatives favor more organized and hierarchical social structures certainly conforms to their more organized and unambiguous cognitive styles, and their more positive evaluation of social leaders.
Indeed, the Conservatives have a much higher valuation of the rich and powerful members of society than do the Liberals, even if Conservatives hold low social positions. The Conservatives also report a higher sense of duty towards leadership than do the Liberals, regardless of the political orientation of that leadership.
Conservative males are more likely to participate in team sports and engage in competition against other groups. Although female Liberals have a slightly higher tendency for team sports participation than their Conservative counterparts, the Conservative females have a slightly higher tendency to participate in non-athletic social groups.
But we have just scratched the surface of our cognitive evidence, and will continue with this critically important topic in next month's edition.
The Impact of Introversion and Extroversion on Political and Religious Preferences
(Part 2)In last month's issue, we reported that extroverts and introverts are not politically or religiously equivalent.
Extroverts are usually more religious, more likely to literally interpret religious doctrine, more likely to believe in their political party's platforms, more likely to organize themselves into social groups, and more likely to align their beliefs to what other people believe in those same social groups.
The Introverted Brain--(Areas in Blue Are More Activated in Introverts)On the other hand, introverts are typically less religious, less likely to participate in organized groups, less likely to believe in their political party's platforms, and less likely to give as much weight to what other people believe, inside or outside of their social groups.
A question we left hanging from last month's issue was exactly what criteria were the 1,616 participants in our Winter 2006 survery using to decide on whether they were introverted or extroverted?
Brain imaging would reveal several neural structures that correlate strongly with introverted and extroverted cognition. Prefrontal cortical regions involved in memory retrieval and planning were more active in the introverts, along with the anterior thalamus and anterior insula, also involved in memory retrieval.
In contrast, the extroverted brain exhibits more activity in
The Extroverted Brain (Areas in Yellow More Activated in Extroverts)the anterior cingulate, posterior thalamus, temporal lobes, posterior parietal lobe, right insula, and left amygdala. These regions are responsible for real-time sensory processing and rapid resolution of the emotional significance of sensory events.
The introvert is adapting more neural resources involved in behavioral inhibition than the extroverts. In short, the introverted brain is more actively relating current sensory information with memory retrieval systems and planning responsive behavior. The "self-talk" portion of Broca's area was also more activated in the introverts, providing support for this activity. Conversely, this "self-talk" region was not as active in extroverts.
Extroversion and the Olfactory System
Increased temporal lobe activity, associated with extroversion, has also been implicated with enhanced religiosity and olfaction. In an article in last month's edition of Neuropolitics.org, Sexuality, Religiosity and the Olfactory System, we discussed some of the evidence linking the temporal lobes with enhanced religiosity. We also discussed the curious elevation in the reported sense of smell of the Very Religious, and the strong olfactory sensations associated with temporal lobe epilepsy.
However, few things in our Winter 2006 survey correlated quite as strongly with extroversion and introversion as did sense of smell.
Those Reporting Enhanced Sense of Smell (E=Extrovert,I=Introvert) (F=Female, M=Male), (Con=Conservative, Mod=Moderate, Lib=Liberal)Relative to males, the females in our survey reported a better sense of smell across all political cohorts. Females typically report higher rates of olfactory efficiency, and research has repeatedly demonstrated a female advantage regardless of age.
But we also found a significant elevation in the reported olfactory efficiency in the extroverts. In the above graph, the extroverts (in red) all report higher rates than the introverts (in blue). This is true across all political and gender cohorts.
Discussion
Extroverts and introverts are using their brains differently, so it should not be surprising that they exhibit variations in political and religious cognition. The introvert utilizes more frontal cortical resources in sensory input analysis, and behavioral inhibition is one of the results. By reducing the demands of verbal processing, the introvert can devote more resources to sensory integration--clearing the table so the slower-acting prefrontal regions can take their time.
The introverts, on average, were more inclined to say they make their political decisions based on logic than were the extroverts in our survey. The introverts were also more likely to say they made their political decisions based on morality.
Conversely, the extroverts were more likely to cite that they made their political decisions based on religion and in accordance to their political party than were the introverts. Belief-alignment to their social groups played a larger role in the extrovert's political decision making.
In our survey, extroverts were much more oriented towards relationships with people. They were more likely to know their next-door neighbors, more likely to want attention, more likely to use their cell phones, more likely to carry pictures of people in their wallets, more likely to belong to social clubs, and more likely to remember the birth dates of more people.
Organizing into social groups is such an important survival attribute that the extrovert would seem to have quite an advantage over the introvert. In Part 1 of this article we asked--If the survival value of participating in social groups is so valuable, why are there so many introverts?
We did find one significant advantage for the introverts---enhanced visuospatial reasoning. The introverts scored much better than the extroverts in our visuospatial test. This is likely due to the introvert's elevated frontal lobe activity.
Perhaps the most surprising result in our Winter 2006 survey was the potential political and religious impact of olfaction. But maybe this should be expected.
Olfaction in lower animals is critical in aggression, sexual arousal, resolving dominance or submissiveness among conspecifics, identification of specific individuals within a group, intruder detection, and the determination of conspecific stress levels. If olfaction is impaired in rats, aggression levels and sexual arousal are reduced in both males and females.
The organization of the olfactory system in humans is very suspicious, as it is very closely associated with the same neural substrates used in both sexuality and religiosity, such as the amygdalae and the temporal lobes. Olfaction is highly correlated with religiosity, as well as with extroversion.
The frontal cortial regions seem to be reducing religiosity. In our December 2005 edition, we noted that the dopaminergic pathway originating in the substantia nigra may be interferring with religious beliefs. The noradrenergic pathway originating in the locus coeruleus may also be impairing religiosity. These two pathways can elevate the activity levels of the frontal lobes.
Introversion and shyness are related, but not equivalent psychological attributes. Introversion incorporates more neural resources involved in memory association and planning. Shyness is more closely related to limbic structures such as the right anterior cingulate gyrus and amygdala.
In our survey, the self-categorization of introverted versus extroverted is of particular interest, as we did not explicitly determine if shyness was one of the self-classification criteria. We did collect indicators of shyness such as Glossophobia (speech), and Ochlophobia (crowds). Correlating these phobias against visuospatial task performance was not as statistically significant as with introversion. Therefore, it seems that most of the introverts in our survey were not using shyness are their primary criteria for self-classification.
Introversion and extroversion are politically and religiously active psychological attributes. The introverts exhibit political and religious behavior that is different than the extroverts, which is reflective of the more prefrontal cortical orientation of the introverts, and the more temporoparietal orientation of the extroverts.
Brack and Zhang, March 2006
Email: Brack@neuropolitics.org
Zhang@neuropolitics.org
Color Preferences of Liberals and Conservatives
One of the more interesting results from research into the neural substrates of olfaction is how certain colors will elevate the activity of the orbitofrontal and insular cortices when they are deemed to compliment the appropriate odors.
For example, the color red, when viewed in the presence of the odor of strawberries, will increase the activity in the aforementioned brain regions. As we have discussed in our January 2006 edition, the orbitofrontal cortex is a politically hot region, as it functions to integrate empathy with goal-seeking, providing self-regulation of personal reward-seeking behaviors in social contexts.
In the February 2006 edition, we also proposed that the olfactory-amygdala-hypothalamus network is religiously hot. That is, it has become mixed up in religious cognition, along with performing its phylogenetically ancient function as a chemical sensing and response system. The fact that olfaction has become closely integrated with visual cues begs the question--are there political and religious variations in color preferences? If so, then why?
The hedonic impact of color has been well documented, with research dating all the way back into the 19th century. Many studies would find that people tend to prefer variations of blue or red, and gender was a major factor in that decision. Males had a stronger preference for blues than females. Females had a wider distribution of color preference than males.
We had the 2,162 respondents to our Fall 2005 survey choose their favorite among ten colors, and noted some interesting variations across political, religious, and gender cohorts.
The Color of Conservatism
Red was the most politically active color, as can be seen in the graph below.
Preference for Red: (Liberal, L=Liberal, M=Moderate, C=Conservative, VC=Very Conservative) (M=Male, F=Female)There was a sharp elevation in the preference for red among the Conservatives in both genders. More significantly, this preference was more elevated in the Very Conservatives. Females had a stronger preference for red than males, which is consistent with most other hedonic color research.
The preference for the color red was more closely correlated with political cohort than religious cohort.
The Color of Female Liberalism
The Conservative males and females had a stronger preference for dark blue than the Liberals, but the Liberal females would have a strong elevation in the preference for the light blue tone, as seen in the graph below.
Preference for Blue and Light Blue (Liberal, L=Liberal, M=Moderate, C=Conservative, VC=Very Conservative) (M=Male, F=Female)The males had a low preference for light blue across all political cohorts, and preferred the deep blue option. The Very Liberal males had the lowest preference for deep blue.
The preference for deep blue among females would show a consistent elevation with the strength of Conservative belief. Females had a much greater preference for light blue than males. Again, color preference for our two shades of blue were more closely related to political than to religious cohort.
The Color of Male Liberalism
The Liberal males would show an interesting elevation in preference for darker green tones, as seen in the graph below.
Preference for Green and Dark Green (Liberal, L=Liberal, M=Moderate, C=Conservative, VC=Very Conservative) (M=Male, F=Female)The males, on average, would show a stronger preference for the green color options than females. The Very Conservatives would show the lowest preference for our green color options in both males and females.
Discussion
Color preference across political cohorts is not random, and there are notable anomalies exhibited by each political-gender cohort. The Conservatives, both males and females, seem to be favoring the two extremes of the visible electromagnetic spectrum--red and blue light.
The Liberals, both males and females, would tend to favor wavelengths towards the middle of the visable light spectrum, and their respective anomalous elevations towards dark-greens and light-blues are coincidentally close in wavelength. The Moderates exhibited the widest distribution of color preference in both genders.
The preference for blue and green light has a deep neurological significance. Monochromatic blue and green light are optimal in the suppression of pineal gland melotonin production, and is fundamental in regulating the sleep-wake cycle. Monochromatic red light would have a lesser impact, and require higher intensities to evoke the same melotonin impact.
But some interesting research by Cowan et al has implicated that the visual system's response to blue light may be a marker for central nervous system dopamine "tone". As we have proposed in a variety of articles, the dopaminergic activation system is more closely associated with Conservative behavioral attributes than with Liberal.
However, the neural correlates of color preference are not well understood, and the large number of discernable wavelengths and their varying impacts on human physiology will not be easy to resolve.
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Males Report that Females Get Their Way More Often (and so do Females)
We are not sure how much this has to do with politics, but the results were certainly interesting. We asked the 1,616 respondents to our Winter 2006 survey "Who is more likely to get their way, you or your partner?".
Naturally the males tended to think, on average, that their partner got their way more often. This is not interesting, except that females tended to think, on average, that they got their way more often than men across all political cohorts.
Advantage in Relationship (Green=Your Partner, Red=You) (VL=Very Liberal, L=Liberal, C=Conservative, VC=Very Conservative) (M=Male, F=Female)We did not display the percentages indicating that the relationship was About Even. The Conservative and Liberal males reported the highest level of inequity in favor of their partners. Coincidentally, the Conservative and Liberal females reported the largest advantage in their favor.
The Very Liberal females reported an advantage, but the lowest advantage among the females. The Very Conservative and Moderate females were next. However, the Moderate, Very Liberal, and Very Conservative males also reported relatively high levels of inequity, although not as high as the regular Liberals and Conservatives.
Remarkably, subordination in a relationship appears to be a politically active attribute. Those that claim that they get their way more in their relationships have a higher valuation of the rich and powerful than those that claim their partner gets their way more often.
People that are subordinate in their relationships are also more likely to cite social concern as a primary motivation in their political choices. People that are dominant in their relationships are more likely to dislike indecisive leaders. They are also more likely to believe in their party's political platforms.
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