Democrats and Republicans are literally “wired” differently
Bottom Line: Much of life is based on what we’re literally made of naturally. Male or female, short or tall, disability or no disability, ethnicity, etc. Those characteristics factor into many dynamics which playout during our lives. Add politics into that discussion. As it turns out we’re literally wired differently from one another based on our political persuasion. A study conducted by the University of Exeter found non-partisans literally process information differently from Democrats and Republicans. In the study physical differences in one’s brain activity were observed when set circumstances were presented to individuals. What’s most interesting is that partisans actually process information similarly. It’s the non-partisans that are different in their mental approach.
Researchers estimated 40% of Americans are wired as non-partisans. This isn’t to say that up to 40% don’t have political leanings, preferences or tendencies but that they aren’t likely to identify primarily with a political party and aren’t quite as ideological generally as partisans. Also, notably as it applies to political decisions. Positivity wins. Researchers found those wired as nonpartisans are more likely to respond to positive messaging than negative messaging. Theoretically negative campaign messages would turn off non-partisans.
In the study MRIs of 110 adults were sampled as each person was presented with a non-political task with varying degrees of risks and rewards available based on decision making.