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The Partisan Brain: An Identity-Based Model of Political Belief

2018; Elsevier BV; Volume: 22; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.tics.2018.01.004

1879-307X

Jay J. Van Bavel, Andrea Pereira,

Social Media and Politics

Over 2 billion people use social media every day, and many use it to read and discuss politics. Social media also facilitate the spread of fake news and hyper-partisan content. Online discussions of politicized topics, including political events and issues (e.g., same-sex marriage, climate change, gun control), resemble an echo chamber. That is, posts on these topics are shared primarily by people with similar ideological preferences. Political polarization is most likely when users employ moral/emotional language. This may reflect ideological differences between people on the left versus right or partisanship. Online partisan criticism that derogates political opponents increases political polarization. Liberals are somewhat more likely to share cross-ideological content on social media (i.e., information posted by people with different ideological beliefs). Democracies assume accurate knowledge by the populace, but the human attraction to fake and untrustworthy news poses a serious problem for healthy democratic functioning. We articulate why and how identification with political parties – known as partisanship – can bias information processing in the human brain. There is extensive evidence that people engage in motivated political reasoning, but recent research suggests that partisanship can alter memory, implicit evaluation, and even perceptual judgments. We propose an identity-based model of belief for understanding the influence of partisanship on these cognitive processes. This framework helps to explain why people place party loyalty over policy, and even over truth. Finally, we discuss strategies for de-biasing information processing to help to create a shared reality across partisan divides. Democracies assume accurate knowledge by the populace, but the human attraction to fake and untrustworthy news poses a serious problem for healthy democratic functioning. We articulate why and how identification with political parties – known as partisanship – can bias information processing in the human brain. There is extensive evidence that people engage in motivated political reasoning, but recent research suggests that partisanship can alter memory, implicit evaluation, and even perceptual judgments. We propose an identity-based model of belief for understanding the influence of partisanship on these cognitive processes. This framework helps to explain why people place party loyalty over policy, and even over truth. Finally, we discuss strategies for de-biasing information processing to help to create a shared reality across partisan divides. a state of focused awareness on a subset of the available perceptual information. the pervasive drive to form and maintain lasting, positive interactions with other people. the psychologically uncomfortable state induced by the co-presence of inconsistent attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors. the need for uniqueness and individuation. the desire for predictability, decisiveness, preference for order and structure, and discomfort with ambiguity. a collection of brain processes responsible for planning, cognitive flexibility, abstract thinking, rule acquisition, initiating appropriate actions and inhibiting inappropriate actions, and selecting relevant sensory information. a system of beliefs and values that represent one’s worldview. evaluative information that is activated automatically, sometimes without intention or awareness. identification with a political party. an influential theory claiming that a person’s sense of self is based largely on their group membership(s). the tendency of people to tolerate, legitimize, and perpetuate the system they live in, including unfair and unequal ones, by endorsing the status quo and opposing attempts to change.