A new study reveals that people who identify as liberal or left-leaning politically exhibit greater neural empathy responses compared to conservatives.
The findings provide novel neuroscientific evidence that ideological differences extend to brain function during empathy.
Key Facts:
- Researchers used MEG brain imaging to measure neural empathy responses in 55 participants as they observed others’ emotional suffering.
- Alpha rhythm suppression in the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) region was significantly greater in leftists compared to rightists when empathizing.
- The TPJ is a key region for cognitive empathy and understanding others’ mental states.
- The neural empathy response correlated with self-reported political ideology on a left-right scale.
- Right-wing authoritarian values also predicted reduced TPJ empathy activation.
- Self-reported empathy on questionnaires did not differ between groups, suggesting added value of neural measures.
Source: Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2023
Empathy: Liberals vs. Conservatives
Empathy allows us to understand and share the feelings of others.
But does empathy come more naturally to those on the political left or right?
Past research using self-report surveys has suggested that liberals and left-leaning individuals have higher average empathy compared to conservatives.
However, these studies rely on subjective questionnaires prone to bias.
In a new study, researchers used neuroimaging to objectively measure empathy responses in the brains of liberals and conservatives.
The findings reveal that political ideology is linked to differences in a key neural marker of empathy.
Brain Activity During Empathy: Democrats vs. Republicans
The researchers recruited 55 healthy adults who represented a range of political orientations.
The participants’ ideological leanings were assessed using a scale from 1 (extreme right) to 7 (extreme left).
About half were categorized as leftists (rating 5-7) and half as rightists (rating 1-3).
The participants underwent magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain scanning while completing an empathy task.
This involved viewing photos depicting emotional suffering (e.g. crying) or neutral situations, paired with short backstories.
Participants were instructed to empathize with those shown in the photos.
The researchers examined alpha rhythm oscillations in the 8-13 Hz frequency range, which suppress in active brain regions.
Alpha suppression in the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) is a well-established neural signature of empathy and understanding others’ mental states.
By comparing alpha activity during emotional versus neutral stimuli, the researchers could pinpoint TPJ activation specific to empathizing with others’ suffering.
Leftists Showed Stronger TPJ Empathy Activation
The results revealed significantly greater suppression of TPJ alpha oscillations in leftists compared to rightists when viewing suffering.
This effect was strongest 450-1000 ms after photo onset.
The magnitude of alpha suppression correlated with political ideology, following a linear trend.
The more left-leaning the participants’ views, the greater the TPJ empathy activation.
Right-wing authoritarian values also predicted lower TPJ activation.
But self-reported empathy on questionnaires did not differ between groups.
According to the researchers, these findings suggest leftists exhibit heightened neural empathic responses in the TPJ.
This aligns with prior psychological research indicating higher average empathy among liberals.
The TPJ: A Major Region for Cognitive Empathy
What does the TPJ do, and why is its engagement important for empathy?
The TPJ is a critical node in the brain’s ‘theory of mind’ network.
This system allows us to infer others’ mental states, beliefs, and emotions in order to understand their experiences.
Essentially, it enables cognitive empathy through perspective taking.
When we see someone suffering, our TPJ activates to model their emotional state and imagine what they might be thinking and feeling. This helps us to empathize.
Studies of neurological patients with TPJ lesions show they have specific deficits in mental state attribution and empathy.
Neuroimaging also confirms the TPJ’s role during empathy across various modalities like pain observation, emotional music, and moral dilemmas.
The researchers suggest leftists may have greater cognitive empathy abilities mediated by more robust TPJ function.
This may stem from differences in moral values between liberals and conservatives.
Political Ideology & Moral Foundations
So where does this ideological asymmetry in neural empathy come from?
One prominent theory proposes that political leanings stem from innate differences in moral foundations.
The ‘Moral Foundations Theory’ posits that liberals emphasize care for others and equality more than conservatives.
Conservatives, on the other hand, value loyalty, authority, and group purity more highly.
These diverging moral priorities likely motivate liberals to empathize more broadly, especially with disadvantaged groups.
Conservatives’ moral values may drive empathy more towards in-groups.
Caring deeply about fairness and protecting the vulnerable likely calls for cognitive empathy skills to understand others’ plights.
This maps onto liberals’ stronger TPJ responses when empathizing in the current study.
The Role of Context and Target Groups
However, empathy also depends heavily on context.
Conservatives may not lack empathy generally – rather, their empathy may operate more selectively.
In their daily lives, liberals and conservatives may direct empathy towards different targets.
Conservatives are thought to empathize strongly with family members and close groups.
Liberals may empathize more with strangers and humanity in general.
The current study did not test these context effects directly.
Follow-up studies are needed to compare TPJ responses when liberals and conservatives empathize with in-groups versus out-groups.
Intergroup empathy biases have been observed neurally in the Israeli context.
It will be important for future neuropolitical research to disentangle potential influences of inter-group conflict on ideology and empathy.
Self-Report Versus Neural Measures of Empathy
Intriguingly, the liberals and conservatives did not differ in self-reported empathy on standard questionnaires.
Only the neural measure uncovered an ideology-linked empathy asymmetry.
This discrepancy highlights potential limitations of self-report measures.
Social desirability biases may sway people to overstate their empathy.
Explicit self-ratings also tend to correlate weakly with implicit empathic responding like mimicry and brain activation.
Neural measures can circumvent these issues and capture empathy processes as they unfold in real-time.
The researchers suggest neuroimaging could offer a more objective gauge of empathy untainted by reporting biases.
MEG’s excellent temporal resolution was crucial for pinpointing the TPJ’s later empathy activation.
Other neuroimaging modalities like EEG and fMRI should corroborate the findings.
Caveats and Open Questions
Before drawing conclusions, some caveats are worth mentioning.
First, the study used a general left-right measure of ideology. More nuanced political dimensions could reveal additional insights.
Second, the cross-sectional design means cause-and-effect relationships are unclear.
Does empathy shape ideology, or vice versa?
Longitudinal studies tracking children’s empathy and emerging political leanings may help disentangle these possibilities.
Finally, empathy measured neurally does not necessarily reflect empathic accuracy.
Future work should explore whether stronger TPJ responses translate to real-world empathic behaviors and policy positions.
Nonetheless, these novel findings represent an important first step in establishing neurobiological links between ideology and empathy.
Several questions remain open for future work to address:
- How do distinct moral values instill ideological differences in empathy?
- Does intergroup context modulate TPJ empathy responses and their polarity?
- Can neural measures of ideology and empathy predict real-world outcomes like volunteering?
- Can we train empathy and influence political views by engaging TPJ plasticity?
Excessive empathy may be problematic too
Empathy, while fundamentally crucial for human connection and understanding, has its dark side when experienced in excess.
Overwhelming empathy can blur the lines between self and others, leading to emotional burnout and difficulty in setting healthy boundaries.
There’s a risk of becoming overly absorbed in others’ feelings and problems, sidelining one’s own well-being and rational judgment.
Over-empathizing can make one vulnerable to manipulation, as the intense desire to alleviate others’ suffering might blind one to deceit or ulterior motives.
It’s crucial to strike a balance, where empathy guides actions but doesn’t override the importance of self-care and discernment.
Embracing empathy while maintaining a degree of self-preservation ensures a harmonious coexistence with others without personal detriment.
Implications for Political Psychology
Uncovering the neurological foundations of ideology may have profound implications for political psychology.
It could shed light on the origins of partisan conflict regarding social policies.
Neuroimaging may offer new diagnostic tools to complement traditional self-report measures in this field.
If ideology partly stems from innate predispositions in empathy circuitry, this poses challenges for those wishing to change political attitudes.
But it also suggests possible avenues like targeting TPJ plasticity.
As neuroscience enters political discourse, these findings will fuel intriguing new directions for research and theory.
Conclusion: Higher Empathy in Liberals
Using neuroimaging, this groundbreaking study demonstrates that political leftists exhibit heightened neural empathic responses compared to rightists.
Specifically, liberals showed greater activation in the TPJ – a critical cognitive empathy region – when observing others in distress.
The findings bolster previous links between ideology and dispositional empathy observed through self-report methods.
They also provide vital neural evidence that left-right differences extend to core aspects of social cognition.
Looking ahead, neural measures like TPJ activation could open new windows onto the psychological and biological roots of political ideology.
References
- Study: Ideological values are parametrically associated with empathy neural response to vicarious suffering
- Authors: Niloufar Zebarjadi et al. (2023)
