VOLUME LXVI | JUN 2022

The Complex Dance of Threat and Politics

Marc Harper

Just as an intricate dance requires perfect coordination and synchronization, the relationship between threat and politics is a delicate balance of emotions. In our research, we proposed a comprehensive model that brings together psychology, political science, and neuroscience to understand this intricate dance. Our model makes two key predictions. Firstly, individuals’ political preferences can be influenced by their feelings and perceptions of threat. And secondly, when political preferences are perceived as addressing the threat, they can in turn shape individuals’ feelings and perceptions of threat. However, there are differing views on these predictions. While Van Hiel agrees with the first prediction, they argue that our second prediction paints the political mind as too logical and devoid of emotion.

To better comprehend this fascinating relationship between threat and politics, it may be beneficial to explore additional research in cognitive sciences. To dive deeper into our proposed integrative model and explore how emotional processes intertwine with our political landscape, check out the full article!

We proposed an integrative model of the threat–politics association [1]. The model has two broad predictions based upon developments in psychology, political science, and neuroscience. First, people’s feelings and perceptions of threat may be caused by their political preferences. Second, people’s feelings and perceptions of threat will cause changes in political preferences when the political preferences are perceived as addressing the threat. Van Hiel [2] appears to agree with the first broad prediction but believes that our second prediction conceives of the political mind as too cognitive, rational, and unemotional.
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