Extreme left and far right more alike than they think

By Stephen Beech

Political polar opposites may be more alike than they think, according to a new study.

Extreme liberals and far-right activists process political information similarly, say scientists.

American researchers found that the brains of politically extreme individuals - whether left- or right-leaning - appear to respond to and process political information in "surprisingly similar" ways.

Study co-author Professor Oriel Feldman Hall, of Brown University, said: “Both extreme liberals and extreme conservatives consumed the same political content, and even though they held vastly different beliefs, their brains appeared to process the information in a very similar manner.

“In contrast, moderates showed much more diverse brain responses, suggesting that extremity - above and beyond ideology - drives this shared way of processing political information.”

FeldmanHall and her co-author Daantje de Bruin used a combination of MRI brain scans, skin conductance measures, and eye-tracking on 44 participants with varying political ideologies and levels of extremism, while they watched a politically charged video.

Their findings showed that extreme individuals - even when they held opposing ideologies - exhibited similar patterns of brain activity when consuming political content that participants with moderate political views did not.

The synchronicity was strongest during segments of the video that featured more extreme language, according to the findings published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Participants with more extreme views were also more physiologically aroused - measured via galvanic skin response - when exposed to political content.

The researchers say the bodily responses appeared to "amplify" neural synchronisation, further suggesting that emotion and arousal help bind people to their political beliefs.

De Bruin, a doctoral student at Brown University, said: “Regardless of whether someone identified as extremely liberal or extremely conservative, their brain responded to political stimuli in similar ways.

“This suggests that it’s not just what you believe, but how strongly you believe it and how emotionally reactive you are that shapes your perception of political reality.”

The research team says their findings offer scientific support for the “horseshoe theory” of politics, which posits that extremists on both ends of the political spectrum may resemble each other more than they resemble moderates.

FeldmanHall added: “Our findings suggest that individuals with extreme opposing views may be more alike than they realise.

"Recognising this shared experience could foster greater empathy and reduce dehumanisation across the political divide."