Can we consciously influence our political orientation?

Political orientations. A controversial topic in Americans society. Today there are two main groups of political ideologies in conservatives and liberals. Nobody can be exclusively one of them but when somebody leans more to one of those sides, thei associates themselves with some fundamental characteristics. Liberals are known as open minded, flexible people who often seem like they just live their lives, while conservatives prefer structure and want to keep things the way they are. So, they do not like change. There are already many studies about the differences of those political tilts, but where do we get these habits from?

Many psychologists and analysts say that our world view is influenced right from the day of our birth. From our childhoods on we learn how to behave correctly from our parents and some Role Models like celebrities. They show us the world from their perspective and usually children take up many central ethnic attitudes and worldviews. Often the first decade of our lives is crucial for our understanding of right and wrong.

So, if personal experience and your environment have a huge impact on your ideology, are there any physical differences too? A group of scientists found that there is indeed a biological difference between the brain from a conservative and a liberal. It turned out that the agdamygdala, the part of the brain responsible for processing in anxiety and fear, is very active in conservative brains, while the most active part of liberal brains is the anterior circulate cortex that helps understanding and monitoring  conflict. Furthermore, the results of some tests have shown that there is an enormous contrast between these ideologies in terms of dealing with pain. Although liberals are more likely to cry at terrifying pictures humans in general tend to be more conservative when they are afraid. The scientists are guessing that is roughly 30% of our political orientation fixed in our genes.

In summary one can say that your priorities and ideologies are probably partly predetermined by your genes and so is your political orientation. No matter with how many liberals you will surround yourself, you will actually always talk a little past each other as your genes are more conservative. What do you think about that? Do you believe the scientists? Could you imagine that there is a biological background when you listen to Trump’s or Clinton’s political speeches? I’m looking forward to your opinions in the comments!