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Nearing the end of this election season, we can see the great divide between\u00a0Trump supporters and Hillary supporters. Both sides of the election show a great deal of unwavering support for their candidates. We can see that these supporters remain\u00a0uncritical and unfazed when either candidate is involved with a scandal. What if there was science to explain why Hillary and Trump supporters are so unwilling to rationally criticize their candidate of choice?<\/span><\/p>\n In John Hartung\u2019s article for the Foreign Policy Journal, he introduced research from Danish scientists that explains what happens to our brains when we hear people \u201cpreach\u201d our beliefs. The study had two groups split up into how they identified: religious or non-religious. These people were put into MRI scanners and listened to recording of a pastor preaching. Those who identified as more religious had something happen to their brains compared to those who identified as non-religious \u2013 their medial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices shut off. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that coordinates our executive functions like: decision making, planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, and moderating social behavior. Now, this kind of reaction in\u00a0our brains isn\u2019t just limited to religious sermons, but is also likely\u00a0relevant to\u00a0our political beliefs.<\/span><\/p>\n Now we know why our Facebook newsfeed is\u00a0filled with people from both political parties constantly defending their candidate: hearing political candidates “preach” their beliefs may be affecting their brains,\u00a0preventing\u00a0them from\u00a0fully recognizing that their belief system and candidate could be flawed. This could also be why a lot of\u00a0Trump supporters are completely unfazed by\u00a0his various sexual assault scandals, and are willing to believe anything\u00a0Trump says without question. The same goes for Hillary’s supporters who\u00a0are willing to\u00a0defend her despite her various scandals.\u00a0This research\u00a0gives us great insight on one\u00a0possible reason behind people’s unwavering support for their favored candidate.\u00a0With this\u00a0in mind, we\u00a0should all use our\u00a0best judgment to vote on\u00a0November 8th, and consider every\u00a0aspect when choosing who we\u00a0believe is the right candidate.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n ~Cindy Wu<\/p>\n Sources:<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.foreignpolicyjournal.com\/2016\/10\/18\/trump-clinton-and-prefrontal-cortices-the-neuroscience-of-core-support\/<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
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