Afraid of Whom? Threat Sensitivity as a Predictor of Divergent Attitudes

• In Event: The Causes & Consequences of Authoritarianism

Abstract

Taking insights from the fields of psychology and biology, a growing body of literature considers the psycho-physiological foundations of political attitudes. Subconscious emotional reactions to threat, for example, have been shown to predict socially-conservative attitudes towards outgroups. However, many of these studies fail to consider different sources of perceived threat. Using a combination of survey and physiological data, I distinguish between fear of others and fear of authority, finding threat sensitivity to predict divergent political attitudes depending on the strength of each. Those more sensitive to agoraphobia tend to hold conservative attitudes, while those who fear authority generally take liberal positions. As sensitivity to threat is at least partially inherited, these findings highlight the genetic role of political predispositions.

Author

• Nicolas Martin Anspach, York College of Pennsylvania