DOCSLIB.ORG

Neural Bases of Motivated Reasoning: an Fmri Study of Emotional Constraints on Partisan Political Judgment in the 2004 U.S

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Neural Bases of Motivated Reasoning: an Fmri Study of Emotional Constraints on Partisan Political Judgment in the 2004 U.S Neural Bases of Motivated Reasoning: An fMRI Study of Emotional Constraints on Partisan Political Judgment in the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election Drew Westen, Pavel S. Blagov, Keith Harenski, Clint Kilts, and Stephan Hamann Abstract & Research on political judgment and decision-making has formation threatening to their own candidate, the opposing converged with decades of research in clinical and social psy- candidate, or neutral control targets. Motivated reasoning was chology suggesting the ubiquity of emotion-biased motivated associated with activations of the ventromedial prefrontal cor- reasoning. Motivated reasoning is a form of implicit emotion tex, anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, in- regulation in which the brain converges on judgments that sular cortex, and lateral orbital cortex. As predicted, motivated minimize negative and maximize positive affect states associ- reasoning was not associated with neural activity in regions ated with threat to or attainment of motives. To what extent previously linked to cold reasoning tasks and conscious motivated reasoning engages neural circuits involved in ‘‘cold’’ (explicit) emotion regulation. The findings provide the first reasoning and conscious emotion regulation (e.g., suppres- neuroimaging evidence for phenomena variously described sion) is, however, unknown. We used functional neuroimag- as motivated reasoning, implicit emotion regulation, and psy- ing to study the neural responses of 30 committed partisans chological defense. They suggest that motivated reasoning is during the U.S. Presidential election of 2004. We presented qualitatively distinct from reasoning when people do not have subjects with reasoning tasks involving judgments about in- a strong emotional stake in the conclusions reached. & INTRODUCTION avoid aversive feelings such as anxiety and guilt. We use In political science, cognitive science, economics, law, the term motivated reasoning here because of its wide- and business, the predominant models of judgment and spread use (although, strictly speaking, all reasoning is decision-making today are ‘‘bounded rationality’’ models typically motivated by emotions such as interest, excite- (Simon, 1990). These models suggest that people are ment, anxiety, etc.; see Marcus, 2002; Westen, 1985). rational within limits imposed by cognitive shortcuts and Neural network models of motivated reasoning sug- heuristics (Westen, Weinberger, & Bradley, in press; gest that in affectively relevant situations, the brain Gigerenzer & Selten, 2001; Kahneman & Tversky, 2000). equilibrates to solutions that simultaneously satisfy two In political science, a long-standing body of research sets of constraints: cognitive constraints, which maxi- on ‘‘partisan’’ biases in political judgment (e.g., Taber, mize goodness of fit to the data, and emotional con- Lodge, & Glathar, 2001; Campbell & Converse, 1960) straints, which maximize positive affect and minimize points to another set of limits to rational judgment im- negative affect (Westen, Feit, Arkowitz, & Blagov, 2005; posed by emotion-biased or motivated reasoning (i.e., Thagard, 2003; Westen, 1998). Decision theorists have reasoning biased to produce emotionally preferable con- long argued that people gravitate toward decisions that clusions; Kunda, 1990; Lord, Ross, & Lepper, 1979). maximize expected utility (or in emotional terms, that Motivated reasoning can be viewed as a form of implicit optimize current or anticipated affect; Simon, Krawczyk, affect regulation in which the brain converges on solu- & Holyoak, 2004; Mellers, 2000; Westen, 1985). Contem- tions that minimize negative and maximize positive porary views of motivation similarly emphasize approach affect states (Westen & Blagov, in press; Westen, 1985, and avoidance systems motivated by positive and nega- 1994, 1998). Freud (1933) described such processes tive affect (Carver, 2001; Davidson, Jackson, & Kalin, decades ago, using the term ‘‘defense’’ to denote the 2000). The same processes of approach and avoidance, processes by which people can adjust their cognitions to motivated by affect or anticipated affect, may apply to motivated reasoning, such that people will implicitly approach and avoid judgments based on their emotional Emory University associations. D 2006 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 18:11, pp. 1947–1958 A series of studies involving political crises in the Kerry, Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, the Democratic Party, United States spanning the past 8 years (the impeach- and the Republican party using a 0–100 ‘‘feeling ther- ment of Bill Clinton, the disputed presidential election mometer’’ (from cold to warm); obtained 4-point rat- of 2000, and the discovery of torture by the United ings of how often Bush and Kerry made them feel angry, States at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq) supports this model hopeful, afraid, proud, and disgusted; and obtained (Westen et al., 2005). These studies, along with simu- 4-point ratings of the extent to which they saw the lations using a connectionist network designed to ad- two candidates as moral, intelligent, dishonest, and out dress ‘‘hot cognition’’ (Thagard, 2003), suggest that of touch with ordinary people. To be included sub- political reasoning can be strongly influenced by the jects had to rate themselves as a strong Democrat or emotional consequences of drawing one conclusion or Republican and to endorse a difference between the the other. Although research has begun to examine ex- two parties or the two candidates 30 points on the plicit (conscious) processes used to regulate emotion, feeling thermometer. notably suppression and distraction (Anderson et al., 2004; Hariri, Mattay, Tessitore, Fera, & Weinberger, 2003; Ochsner, Bunge, Gross, & Gabrieli, 2002), no studies Measures and Procedures have yet examined the neural processes involved in motivated reasoning or implicit affect regulation. The To simulate the constraint satisfaction processes that present study is also among the first to explore the occur as citizens confront political information, we neural basis of any form of political decision-making. devised six sets of statements regarding each of the In this study, conducted during the U.S. Presidential following targets: George Bush, John Kerry, and polit- election of 2004, we observed the reasoning processes ically neutral male targets (e.g., Tom Hanks, Hank of committed partisans as they were presented with Aaron, William Styron). (We tried to generate well- threatening information about their own candidate, the known targets who were emotionally neutral but ulti- opposing candidate, and neutral control individuals. We mately selected politically neutral but largely mildly hypothesized that reasoning about threatening informa- positive targets because of the difficulty identifying tion about one’s own candidate would activate regions well-known figures of any kind about whom people likely to be involved in implicit emotion regulation, nota- have no feelings.) Although many of the statements bly the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) and and quotations were edited or fictionalized, we maxi- the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), as well as regions mized their believability by embedding them in actual reflecting elicitation of negative emotion (the insula, quotes or descriptions of actual events. Subjects were lateral orbital frontal cortex, and amygdala) (see, e.g., given detailed instructions prior to scanning and a Ochsner & Gross, 2005). practice run to familiarize them with procedure prior to imaging trials. Each statement set consisted of seven slides present- METHODS ing verbal material, designed to present a clear contra- diction between the target person’s words and actions Participants and then to resolve that contradiction (Figure 1). Pre- We recruited subjects (n = 30, 15 Democrats and sentation duration of the slides ranged from 5 to 15 sec, 15 Republicans) by placing flyers at local political party depending on the length and demands of the material offices, public places, and cars and houses with po- or task, and reflected pretesting on pilot subjects. Slide litical endorsements (e.g., bumper stickers); posting 1 (15 sec) presented an initial statement, typically a information on Internet political discussion groups quote from the target individual. Slide 2 (12 sec) pre- and local political and party listservs; and placing sented a contradictory statement suggesting that the newspaper and radio advertisements. Recruitment ma- target’s words and actions were inconsistent. Slide 3 terials requested right-handed men, ages 22–55 years, (7 sec) asked subjects to consider whether the target’s who were ‘‘committed Republicans or Democrats.’’ ‘‘statements and actions are inconsistent with each We conducted all screening and scanning from late other,’’ and Slide 4 (5 sec) asked them to rate the extent August through early October 2004. Subjects received to which they agreed that the target’s words and deeds $50 compensation. were contradictory, from 1 (strongly disagree)to4 Potential subjects were screened by phone using a (strongly agree) by using a four-button pad. Slide 5 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) screener (to rule out (12 sec) presented an exculpatory statement that logi- safety risks, neurological conditions, etc.) and a political cally explained away the inconsistency. Slide 6 (7 sec) attitudes questionnaire, using items from the National then asked subjects to consider whether the target’s Election Studies (NES,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • File Download
    Prototype Personality Diagnosis in Clinical Practice: A Viable Alternative for DSM-V and ICD-11 Drew Westen, Emory University Jared DeFife, Emory University Bekh Bradley-Davino, Emory University Mark J. Hilsenroth, Adelphi University Journal Title: Professional Psychology: Research And Practice Volume: Volume 41, Number 6 Publisher: American Psychological Association | 2010-12, Pages 482-487 Type of Work: Article | Post-print: After Peer Review Publisher DOI: 10.1037/a0021555 Permanent URL: http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/cr5sk Copyright information: © 2010, American Psychological Association Accessed October 1, 2021 8:51 AM EDT NIH Public Access Author Manuscript Prof Psychol Res Pr. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 December 1. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptPublished NIH-PA Author Manuscript in final edited NIH-PA Author Manuscript form as: Prof Psychol Res Pr. 2010 December ; 41(6): 482±487. doi:10.1037/a0021555. Prototype Personality Diagnosis in Clinical Practice: A Viable Alternative for DSM-V and ICD-11 Drew Westen, Ph.D., Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University Jared A. DeFife, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Emory University Bekh Bradley, Ph.D., and Department of Psychiatry, Emory University, Atlanta Veterans Administration Hospital Mark J. Hilsenroth, Ph.D. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Adelphi University Abstract Several studies suggest that a prototype matching approach yields diagnoses of comparable validity to the more complex diagnostic algorithms outlined in DSM-IV. Furthermore, clinicians prefer prototype diagnosis of personality disorders (PDs) to the current categorical diagnostic system or alternative dimensional methods. An important extension of this work is to investigate the degree to which clinicians are able to make prototype diagnoses reliably.
    [Show full text]
  • How We Feel About Politics Professor Tom Miller, Dept
    How We Feel about Politics Professor Tom Miller, Dept. of English [email protected] and 626-0202 Bookmarks to weekly assignments in this document Links to online sources o Sources only available on line How a Socialist and a Populist Crashed the Parties Page 3 Campaign Exposes Divisions Over Issues, Values and How Life Has Changed in the U.S. (3/31/16). Voters’ Perceptions of the Candidates: Traits, Ideology and Impact on Issues, (7/14/16) How do the political parties make you feel?, (6/22/16) Donald J. Trump’s Nomination Speech Clinton’s Nomination Speech Democratic Party Platform Republican Party Platform “Unconscious Reactions Separate Liberals and Conservatives” “How Politics Breaks Our Brains” Trumping Conservativism Page 37 “The Appeal of Donald Trump” “The Fact That You’re Going To Die Is Donald Trump’s Biggest Asset” “95,000 Words, Many of Them Ominous, From Donald Trump’s Tongue” “How Should Conservatives Respond to the Age of Trump?” “The GOP’s Ideological Earthquake and the Aftermath” Videos not included here: o The Debates between Lincoln and Douglas o CNN Make or Break Moments in Presidential Debates o 1960 Kennedy and Nixon Debate with commentary by Walter Cronkite o 1980 Debate of Reagan and Carter o 1992 Bush and Clinton Debate o 2012 Obama and Romney Debate How Much of It is Because She’s a Woman? Page 47 “Hey Hillary, Here’s Why People Don’t Trust You” “Hillary Clinton's Trust Gap Is Killing Her with Millennials” “Donald Trump Says Hillary Clinton is Corrupt—Is He Right?” “Americans’ views
    [Show full text]
  • Neural Bases of Motivated Reasoning: an Fmri Study of Emotional Constraints on Partisan Political Judgment in the 2004 U.S
    Neural Bases of Motivated Reasoning: An fMRI Study of Emotional Constraints on Partisan Political Judgment in the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election Drew Westen, Pavel S. Blagov, Keith Harenski, Clint Kilts, and Stephan Hamann Abstract & Research on political judgment and decision-making has formation threatening to their own candidate, the opposing converged with decades of research in clinical and social psy- candidate, or neutral control targets. Motivated reasoning was chology suggesting the ubiquity of emotion-biased motivated associated with activations of the ventromedial prefrontal cor- reasoning. Motivated reasoning is a form of implicit emotion tex, anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, in- regulation in which the brain converges on judgments that sular cortex, and lateral orbital cortex. As predicted, motivated minimize negative and maximize positive affect states associ- reasoning was not associated with neural activity in regions ated with threat to or attainment of motives. To what extent previously linked to cold reasoning tasks and conscious motivated reasoning engages neural circuits involved in ‘‘cold’’ (explicit) emotion regulation. The findings provide the first reasoning and conscious emotion regulation (e.g., suppres- neuroimaging evidence for phenomena variously described sion) is, however, unknown. We used functional neuroimag- as motivated reasoning, implicit emotion regulation, and psy- ing to study the neural responses of 30 committed partisans chological defense. They suggest that motivated reasoning is during the U.S. Presidential election of 2004. We presented qualitatively distinct from reasoning when people do not have subjects with reasoning tasks involving judgments about in- a strong emotional stake in the conclusions reached. & INTRODUCTION avoid aversive feelings such as anxiety and guilt.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Rhetoric in the US Immigration Debate
    Immigrating from Facts to Values: Political Rhetoric in the US Immigration Debate Drew Westen, Ph.D. Westen Strategies and Emory University The Migration Policy Institute is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank dedicated to the study of the movement of people worldwide. About the Transatlantic Council on Migration This paper was commissioned by the Transatlantic Council on Migration for its meeting held in May 2009 in Bellagio, Italy. The meeting’s theme was “Public Opinion, Media Coverage, and Migration” and this paper was one of several that informed the Council’s discussions. The Council is an initiative of the Migration Policy Institute undertaken in cooperation with its policy partner, the Bertelsmann Stiftung. The Council is a unique deliberative body that examines vital policy issues and informs migration policymaking processes in North America and Europe. For more on the Transatlantic Council on Migration, please visit: www.migrationpolicy.org/transatlantic © 2009 Migration Policy Institute. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Migration Policy Institute. A full-text PDF of this document is available for free download from www.migrationpolicy.org. Permission for reproducing excerpts from this report should be directed to: Permissions Department, Migration Policy Institute, 1400 16th Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036, or by contacting [email protected] Suggested citation: Westen, Drew. 2009. Immigrating from Facts to Values: Political Rhetoric in the US Immigration Debate. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. I.
    [Show full text]
  • Personality Subtypes in Adolescents with Panic Disorder
    Article Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry Personality subtypes in adolescents 1–15 © The Author(s) 2010 with panic disorder Reprints and permission: sagepub. co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1359104510387572 ccp.sagepub.com Abigail D. Powers Washington University in Saint Louis, USA Drew Westen Emory University, USA Abstract This study examined personality subtypes of adolescents diagnosed with Panic Disorder (PD). As part of an NIMH-funded study of adolescent personality and its relation to psychopathology, randomly selected experienced licensed psychologists and psychiatrists used a Q-sort instrument to describe adolescents in their care, of whom 57 had been diagnosed with PD. Q-factor analysis yielded three personality subtypes: High Functioning/Dysphoric, Emotionally Dysregulated, and Avoidant. The subtypes differed on axis I and II pathology, adaptive functioning, and developmental and family history variables. Personality constellations showed substantial incremental validity in predicting adaptive functioning above and beyond DSM-IV axis I diagnoses. The results resemble subtypes recently identified in adults and suggest that adolescents who present with panic symptoms are a heterogeneous group, whose personality needs to be considered in understanding and helping them clinically. Keywords adolescents, panic disorder, personality pathology, Q factor analysis, subtypes Introduction Panic Disorder (PD) is a well established and well researched psychiatric disorder among adults, with estimated lifetime prevalence rates of 4.7 percent and 12-month rates of 2.8 percent in the general population (Kessler et al., 2006). Patients often vary in their frequency and severity of panic symptoms, as well as in overall global functioning and comorbidity with other disorders, making PD a complex and heterogeneous disorder (Barlow, Brown, & Craske, 1994; Powers & Westen, 2009).
    [Show full text]
  • Westen Drew CV 2020
    CURRICULUM VITAE Drew Westen, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences 36 Eagle Row Atlanta, GA 30322 Phone: 404.727.7407 Fax: 404.727.0372 Cell: 404.375.6639 [email protected] Education: 1985 Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, University of Michigan. 1981 M.A. in Social and Political Thought, University of Sussex (England). 1980 A.B. in Social Studies, magna cum laude, Harvard University. Employment: 2002- Professor, Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University 2003-2007 Director, Clinical Psychology Program, Emory University 2009- Co-Founder, Implicit Strategies, LLC 2007- Founder, Westen Strategies, LLC 2000-2002 Research Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Boston University 2000-2002 Director, Adolescent and Adult Personality Programs, Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, Boston University 1996-1999 Adjunct Professor, University of Massachusetts, Boston 1993-1999 Associate Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School 1992-1999 Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Harvard University 1991-1999 Chief Psychologist and Director of Psychology Training, Department of Psychiatry, The Cambridge Hospital, Harvard Medical School 1990-1992 Organizational consultant, The Children and Youth Initiative, Detroit, Michigan 1986-1991 Adjunct Assistant Professor (full time), Department of Psychology, University of Michigan 1987-1991 Supervising psychologist, Psychological Clinic, University of Michigan 1987- Private practice in Clinical Psychology 1985-1986 Lecturer, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan 1985-1987 Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan. Full-time clinical work and research on the inpatient adolescent unit at Children's Psychiatric Hospital. 1982-1985 Psychology Intern, Adult Outpatient Service of the University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry, and University of Michigan Counseling Center (half-time).
    [Show full text]
  • Political Psychology: Situations, Individuals, and Cases
    Political Psychology What shapes political behavior more: the situations in which individuals find themselves, or the internal psychological makeup—beliefs, values, and so on—of those individuals? This is perhaps the leading division within the psy- chological study of politics today. Political Psychology: Situations, Individuals, and Cases provides a concise, readable, and conceptually organized introduction to the topic of political psychology by examining this very question. Using this situationism–dispositionism framework—which roughly paral- lels the concerns of social and cognitive psychology—this book focuses on such key explanatory mechanisms as behaviorism, obedience, personality, group- think, cognition, affect, emotion, and neuroscience to explore topics ranging from voting behavior and racism to terrorism and international relations. Houghton’s clear and engaging examples directly challenge students to place themselves in both real and hypothetical situations which involve intense moral and political dilemmas. This highly readable text will provide students with the conceptual foundation they need to make sense of the rapidly chang- ing and increasingly important field of political psychology. David Patrick Houghton is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Central Florida. Political Psychology Situations, Individuals, and Cases David Patrick Houghton First published 2009 by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2009 Taylor and Francis All rights reserved.
    [Show full text]
  • June 2009 AETN Magazine
    Magazine June 2009 visit keefe falls with Chuck DOvish On ExplOring Arkansas June 1st, 6:30 p.m. Arkansas Educational Television Network Contents AETN MAGAZINE Staff DOn’t Miss the great music prOgramming On AETN this mOnth On The Cover.... Editor in Chief On the Cover........2 Allen Weatherly Music on Be sure to tune in and watch Exploring Arkansas, Editors AETN in June........3 June 1st at 6:30 p.m.! Mona Dixon From the Kathy Atkinson Director...............4 This month on Exploring Arkansas Chuck Editorial & Creative Directors Answers From Dovish takes us to Richland Creek Wilderness Sara Willis Viewer Services.....5 in the Ozark National Forest near Ben Hur. Elizabeth duBignon Arkansas State Richland Creek Wilderness is an 11,800 Editorial Panel JOSH GROBAN, AN EVENING IN NEW YORK CITY and National Parks acre site which contains many picturesque Rowena Parr, Pam Wilson, Dan Koops airs Sunday, June 21, 2009, 2:00 p.m. Initiative..............6 waterfalls, bluffs, clear flowing streams and Tiffany Verkler JOSH GROBAN, AN EVENING IN NEW YORK CITY Josh Groban performs favorites from his best-selling albums in an AETN Local rugged terrain which makes it perfect for a Copy Editors Productions...........7 variety of outdoor activities. Darbi Blencowe, Catherine Mays, intimate theatre setting in this SOUNDSTAGE special event. Taped at the Rose Theatre at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Shirley Bowen, Pat Pearce home of “Jazz at Lincoln Center” in New York City, this exhilarating program includes favorites from his best-selling June Highlights.....8 Exploring Arkansas also visits Arkansas Post albums, including “Alla Luce del Sole,” “You Are Loved (Don’t Give Up)” and “February Song.” The concert features PBS Ongoing National Memorial near Gillette which is AETN Offices not only the location of the first European 350 S.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Messaging, Parliament, and People, Or, Why Politicians Say The
    Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author. Political Messaging, Parliament, and People Or, Why Politicians Say the Things They Do the Way They Do: The Parliamentary Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand in 2013 A thesis presented in partial fulfilment Of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Anthropology At Massey University Palmerston North Aotearoa New Zealand Jessica Anne Copplestone Bignell 2018 Abstract One of the main things a Member of Parliament (MP) does in their everyday work is talk. They are constantly saying things to try to win over the public’s support and make the world they envision real. This thesis is about politicians’ statements: why they say the things they say the way they do. Based on behind-the-scenes ethnographic fieldwork in the parliamentary offices of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, I explore the difficult strategic work that shapes what opposition MPs say. In order to win over the public support they need to increase their vote, MPs have to communicate effectively in adherence to the rules and codes of political messaging, be good oppositional MPs, and speak and act in ways that fit authentically with their dispositions. I show that, unlike the simple soundbites we see in public from our politicians, the production of statements designed to win support is messy, indeterminate, uncertain, filled with tension and – above all – intensely complex.
    [Show full text]