We vote - and in some countries are required to do so by law - but do we do so with emotion? Nah! you say. Well, a US professor begs to differ, as he has detailed in a new book, The Political Brain.
Mark Colvin, presenter of ABC Radio National's PM program interviewed the author-professor, Drew Westen:
"Mark Colvin: When we all go to the polls in this year's federal election, will your decision be based on facts or emotions?
Most of us would probably answer facts, but recent advances in brain science suggest that we vote much more emotionally than we may imagine.
Drew Westen is Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and he's written a book investigating these advances, called The Political Brain.
A supporter and adviser to the Democratic Party, he argues that "the question for Democratic politics isn't so much about moving to the right or the left, but about moving the electorate".
Read a fascinating interview, here, and reflect on how you have, in the past, voted, and what may shape your opinion next time around.
Mark Colvin, presenter of ABC Radio National's PM program interviewed the author-professor, Drew Westen:
"Mark Colvin: When we all go to the polls in this year's federal election, will your decision be based on facts or emotions?
Most of us would probably answer facts, but recent advances in brain science suggest that we vote much more emotionally than we may imagine.
Drew Westen is Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and he's written a book investigating these advances, called The Political Brain.
A supporter and adviser to the Democratic Party, he argues that "the question for Democratic politics isn't so much about moving to the right or the left, but about moving the electorate".
Read a fascinating interview, here, and reflect on how you have, in the past, voted, and what may shape your opinion next time around.
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