In a recent post I covered an interesting study from Cornell University that attempted to explore how extreme political views formed.  The research basically suggests that much of this is down to luck, with our peers playing a central role in the formation of our views, and luck in turn playing a part in the views we’re exposed to in that formative time.

A second study, from Cambridge University, is not quite so lassez faire, and instead suggests that people who identify most intensely with certain political tribes or ideologies tend to have low levels of cognitive flexibility.

The findings suggest that not only do such individuals struggle to change their view, but they also struggle to adapt to new environments.  What’s more, this phenomenon was commonplace on both sides of the political spectrum, with the most fervent on both left and right suffering from cognitive rigidity.

The authors believe their work highlights the way our thought processes are strongly linked to the intensity with which we attach ourselves to them.

“Relative to political moderates, participants who indicated extreme attachment to either the Democratic or Republican Party exhibited mental rigidity on multiple objective neuropsychological tests,” the authors say.  “While political animosity often appears to be driven by emotion, we find that the way people unconsciously process neutral stimuli seems to play an important role in how they process ideological arguments.”

Cognitive flexibility

It appears that those with low levels of cognitive flexibility tend to see the world in very black and white terms, and therefore struggle to absorb new and different perspectives.  This is compounded by the safety afforded by strong loyalty to collective ideologies.

The study builds upon previous work that suggests mental rigidity renders one liable to have extreme attitudes in areas ranging from religiosity to nationalism.

Indeed, the intensity with which one is linked to their favored political party was a strong indicator of cognitive rigidity on the three tests undertaken as part of the research.  Those who described themselves as Independents out scored both Democrats and Republicans on the tests, despite cognitive traits such as originality and fluency of thought showing no such differences.

“In the context of today’s highly divided politics, it is important we work to understand the psychological underpinnings of dogmatism and strict ideological adherence,” the researchers say.  “Past studies have shown that it is possible to cultivate cognitive flexibility through training and education. Our findings raise the question of whether heightening our cognitive flexibility might help build more tolerant societies, and even develop antidotes to radicalization.”

If we’re seeking to break down the barriers that appear to divide us, then promoting cognitive agility may be a good place to start.