Negativity bias: why conservatives are more swayed by threats than liberals

We all tend to give more weight to negative messages than positive. Recent research reveals that this psychological bias is much stronger in conservatives than liberals(Preface: all of the research reported in this post has been done with American voters and not those in the UK, where equivalent research is lagging. While there may be some interesting correlates, conservatives in the UKdifferin important ways from conservatives in the US.) Believing what we are told is critical to our development as a species. It allows us to accumulate knowledge and build on it rather than having to learn slowly through trial-and-error or evolutionary selection.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Science Psychology Politics Source Type: news