S5 E27 | Face Off: Exploring Neural Symmetry in Political Affiliation

This week Mike Burke is back and joins Elizabeth for discussion about the neuroscience of polarized attitudes.  A recent article suggests that regardless of which side of the political aisle we inhabit, those with more extreme views may experience similar neural activity and physiological responses to the same political content and emotionally charged language. Research participants who self-identified on the most extreme ends of the ideological spectrum exhibited the most so-called  "neural synchrony effects."  Mike and Elizabeth talk about the implications of these similarities as well as other examples of what is often called the horseshoe theory, which suggests that those at the far ends of the political spectrum may view the world through a shared lens and that their behaviors and strategies are nearly indistinguishable. Mike describes his relevant article in which he argues that too often "those who claim to be the defenders of Western civilisation seem not to notice that they are the ones burning it down from within." 

Podcast notes

Topic article: de Bruin, D., & FeldmanHall, O. (2025). Politically extreme individuals exhibit similar neural processing despite ideological differences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

A brief description of horseshoe theory appears here: https://vanderbiltpoliticalreview.com/12168/us/horseshoe-theory-in-american-politics/

Mike's recent article can be found here: https://www.queermajority.com/essays-all/the-kremlins-lgbt-smokescreen