When we look back to 2020 and in these months after, it may be remembered as the time of not only the great pandemic but also as a time of a great political divide.
While research and science have helped explain the public health crisis, research and science may also explain something about the political divide. A team of researchers at Brown University has released a study that suggests it’s more about our brains than our politics.
The study found that liberals and conservatives share some common ground — they all hate uncertainty. The research found that the brains of “political partisans” on both sides of the spectrum show an inability to tolerate uncertainty. And that those on the far left and far right have a need to hold onto predictable beliefs.
The researchers used MRI scans to measure brain activity while conservatives and liberals watched a neutrally worded news report on a polarizing topic, a fiery political debate segment, and a completely non-political show. The results showed that political polarization is less about what people think and more about how their brains cope with the world around them.
And this study found that what’s going on in the brain seems to stem from very particular polarizing material, with researchers suggesting that “political partisans may be able to see eye to eye — provided we find the right way to communicate.”
Maybe that tells us that less yelling at each other and more talking with one another might help lessen the political divide.
(Phot Getty Images)
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