The News:
Liberal? Conservative? Blame it on a fear factor
A new study argues the choice is tied to DNA, and one camp is scared.
By Denise Gellene Los Angeles Times
Article Launched: 09/19/2008 12:30:00 AM MDT
Die-hard liberals and conservatives aren't made; they're born. It's literally in their DNA.
That's the suggestion of a study by a group of researchers who wanted to see if there was a biological basis for people's political attitudes.
They found to their surprise that opinions on such contentious issues as gun control, pacifism and capital punishment are strongly associated with physiological traits that are probably present at birth.
The key is the differing levels of fear that people naturally feel.
"What is revolutionary about this paper is that it shows the path from genes to physiology to behavior," said James H. Fowler, a political-science professor at the University of California, San Diego, who was not involved in the research.
The researchers, whose findings were published today in the journal Science, looked at 46 people — liberals who supported foreign aid, immigration, pacifism and gun control; and conservatives who advocated defense spending, capital punishment, patriotism and the Iraq war. Read on...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Science.
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