Zmigrod Leor
Cambridge University,
Politics Life Sci. 2021 Nov;40(2):224-238. doi: 10.1017/pls.2021.10.
Ideological behavior has traditionally been viewed as a product of social forces. Nonetheless, an emerging science suggests that ideological worldviews can also be understood in terms of neural and cognitive principles. The article proposes a neurocognitive model of ideological thinking, arguing that ideological worldviews may be manifestations of individuals' perceptual and cognitive systems. This model makes two claims. First, there are neurocognitive antecedents to ideological thinking: the brain's low-level neurocognitive dispositions influence its receptivity to ideological doctrines. Second, there are neurocognitive consequences to ideological engagement: strong exposure and adherence to ideological doctrines can shape perceptual and cognitive systems. This article details the neurocognitive model of ideological thinking and synthesizes the empirical evidence in support of its claims. The model postulates that there are bidirectional processes between the brain and the ideological environment, and so it can address the roles of situational and motivational factors in ideologically motivated action. This endeavor highlights that an interdisciplinary neurocognitive approach to ideologies can facilitate biologically informed accounts of the ideological brain and thus reveal who is most susceptible to extreme and authoritarian ideologies. By investigating the relationships between low-level perceptual processes and high-level ideological attitudes, we can develop a better grasp of our collective history as well as the mechanisms that may structure our political futures.
传统上，意识形态行为被视为社会力量的产物。然而，一门新兴科学表明，意识形态世界观也可以从神经和认知原理的角度来理解。本文提出了一种意识形态思维的神经认知模型，认为意识形态世界观可能是个体感知和认知系统的表现。该模型有两个主张。第一，意识形态思维有神经认知的前因：大脑的低级神经认知倾向会影响其对意识形态教义的接受程度。第二，意识形态参与有神经认知的后果：强烈接触并坚持意识形态教义会塑造感知和认知系统。本文详细阐述了意识形态思维的神经认知模型，并综合了支持其主张的实证证据。该模型假定大脑与意识形态环境之间存在双向过程，因此它可以解释情境和动机因素在意识形态驱动行为中的作用。这一努力凸显出，一种跨学科的意识形态神经认知方法能够促进对意识形态大脑的生物学解读，从而揭示谁最容易受到极端和威权意识形态的影响。通过研究低级感知过程与高级意识形态态度之间的关系，我们能够更好地理解我们的集体历史以及可能塑造我们政治未来的机制。
