Study: Partisan political thought is predominantly unconscious and emotional
{{date|January 24, 2006}}

A recent study led by Dr. Drew Westen, a Professor of Psychology at [[w:Emory University|Emory University]] in [[w:Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta, Georgia]] has concluded that political [[w:partisans|partisans]] use an "almost entirely emotional and unconscious" thought process when digesting damaging information about a favored political candidate.

The experiment used [[w:Functional magnetic resonance imaging|fMRI]] scans of 30 men who self-identified as either a committed Republican or Democrat.  The subjects were given a series of conflicting quotes by either President Bush or Senator Kerry, and covered such topics as the [[w:Enron|Enron]] scandal and the current state of [[w:Social Security|Social Security]].  The quotes were doctored to maximize the apparent contradiction, but were presented as factual.

The results suggests that many seemingly rational political decisions are strongly influenced by unconscious emotional reactions.  Such conclusions match well results from [[w:Advertising psychology|advertising psychology]] which say that purchases are also not as rational as people believe.  Past fMRI studies have found that [[w:Democrat|Democrat]] and [[w:Republican|Republican]] partisans tend to experience different emotions when shown an image of a preferred candidate.

Westen will present his results next month at a meetings of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology in [[w:Palm Springs, CA|Palm Springs, CA]].
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==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/science/24find.html?_r=2
|title=A Shocker: Partisan Thought Is Unconscious
|author=Benedict Carey
|pub=The New York Times|date= January 24, 2006}}  ([http://www.slate.com/id/2134651/ via])
*{{source|url=http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,65521,00.html?tw=rss.TOP
|title=Dems, GOP: Who's Got the Brains?
|author=[[Associated Press|AP]]
|pub=Wired News|date=October 29, 2004}}
*{{source|url=http://www.thoemmes.com/psych/scott.htm
|title=The Psychology of Advertising
|author=Walter Dill Scott
|pub= Classics in Psychology
|date=1908}} <!-- not quite right --->

==External links==
*[http://psychology.emory.edu/clinical/westen/index.html Dr. Drew Westen, a Professor of Psychology]
*[http://www.spsp.org/ Society for Personality and Social Psychology]

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[[Category:Politics and conflicts]][[Category:California]][[Category:United States]][[Category:North America]]
[[Category:Democratic Party (United States)]]
[[Category:Republican Party (United States)]]
A recent study led by Dr. Drew Westen, a Professor of Psychology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia has concluded that political partisans use an "almost entirely emotional and unconscious" thought process when digesting damaging information about a favored political candidate.

The experiment used fMRI scans of 30 men who self-identified as either a committed Republican or Democrat.  The subjects were given a series of conflicting quotes by either President Bush or Senator Kerry, and covered such topics as the Enron scandal and the current state of Social Security.  The quotes were doctored to maximize the apparent contradiction, but were presented as factual.

The results suggests that many seemingly rational political decisions are strongly influenced by unconscious emotional reactions.  Such conclusions match well results from advertising psychology which say that purchases are also not as rational as people believe.  Past fMRI studies have found that Democrat and Republican partisans tend to experience different emotions when shown an image of a preferred candidate.

Westen will present his results next month at a meetings of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology in Palm Springs, CA.
Politics and conflicts California United States North America Democratic Party (United States) Republican Party (United States)