dogjones
Graduate Poster
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2005
- Messages
- 1,303
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2012/jan/31/socialists-conservatives-born-not-made
Seems a little too neat to me. Are the "appetitive"/"aversive" systems actually real, or just a simple way of categorising lots of different responses to stimuli? I would suspect the latter.
Anyone read the actual study?
Emotions in mammals are fuelled by the brain's evolutionarily ancient "appetitive" (desire for food and attachment) and "aversive" (defensive) systems. The appetitive system promotes social cohesion whereas aversive mechanisms drive autonomous survival. These mechanisms can be categorised as approach or avoidant responses: we approach what gives us pleasure (such as food or social contact) and we avoid things we know will harm us (such as faeces or predators).
We are all found somewhere on the approach-avoidant spectrum. Highly social people enjoy novel experiences and meeting strangers and will have a higher than average approach score, whereas others may feel aggression, suspicion and anxiety when confronted with surprises and strangers.
The new research suggests that these physiological and cognitive variations are likely to correlate with political preference.
Seems a little too neat to me. Are the "appetitive"/"aversive" systems actually real, or just a simple way of categorising lots of different responses to stimuli? I would suspect the latter.
Anyone read the actual study?