Department of Political Science,University of Nebraska-Lincoln,Lincoln,NE
Department of Political Science,Rice University,Houston,TX
Behav Brain Sci. 2014 Jun;37(3):297-307. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X13001192.
Disputes between those holding differing political views are ubiquitous and deep-seated, and they often follow common, recognizable lines. The supporters of tradition and stability, sometimes referred to as conservatives, do battle with the supporters of innovation and reform, sometimes referred to as liberals. Understanding the correlates of those distinct political orientations is probably a prerequisite for managing political disputes, which are a source of social conflict that can lead to frustration and even bloodshed. A rapidly growing body of empirical evidence documents a multitude of ways in which liberals and conservatives differ from each other in purviews of life with little direct connection to politics, from tastes in art to desire for closure and from disgust sensitivity to the tendency to pursue new information, but the central theme of the differences is a matter of debate. In this article, we argue that one organizing element of the many differences between liberals and conservatives is the nature of their physiological and psychological responses to features of the environment that are negative. Compared with liberals, conservatives tend to register greater physiological responses to such stimuli and also to devote more psychological resources to them. Operating from this point of departure, we suggest approaches for refining understanding of the broad relationship between political views and response to the negative. We conclude with a discussion of normative implications, stressing that identifying differences across ideological groups is not tantamount to declaring one ideology superior to another.
不同政治观点持有者之间的争议普遍存在且根深蒂固，而且往往遵循常见的、可识别的路线。传统和稳定的支持者，有时被称为保守派，与创新和改革的支持者，有时被称为自由派，展开斗争。理解这些不同政治取向的相关因素可能是管理政治争议的前提，政治争议是社会冲突的一个来源，可能导致挫折甚至流血事件。越来越多的经验证据证明，自由派和保守派在与政治没有直接联系的生活领域存在着许多差异，从艺术品味到对封闭的渴望，从厌恶敏感到追求新信息的倾向，但差异的核心主题仍存在争议。在本文中，我们认为，自由派和保守派之间存在许多差异的一个组织元素是他们对环境中负面特征的生理和心理反应的性质。与自由派相比，保守派往往对这类刺激表现出更大的生理反应，也会投入更多的心理资源来应对这类刺激。基于这一起点，我们提出了一些方法来深化对政治观点与对负面事物的反应之间广泛关系的理解。最后，我们讨论了规范含义，强调指出，识别不同意识形态群体之间的差异并不等同于宣布一种意识形态优于另一种意识形态。
