Constituents of political cognition: Race, party politics, and the alliance detection system

摘要: Research suggests that the mind contains a set of adaptations for detecting alliances: an alliance detection system, which monitors for, encodes, and stores information then modifies activation stored categories according to how likely they will predict behavior within particular social interaction. Previous studies have established this system when exposed explicit competition or cooperation between individuals. In current we examine if shared political opinions produce these same effects. particular, (1) participants spontaneously categorize individuals parties support, even antagonism are absent, (2) party support is sufficiently powerful decrease participants’ categorization by orthogonal but typically-diagnostic cue (in case target’s race). Evidence was found both: Participants implicitly kept track who supported party, cross-cut race—such race targets not predictive support—categorization dramatically reduced. To verify results reflected operation cognitive modifying categories, just socially-relevant in general, identical also conducted with either crossed sex age (neither predicted be primarily category). As predicted, occurred degree, there no reduction age. All effects were replicated across two sets between-subjects conditions. These provide first direct empirical evidence politics engages mind’s systems alliances establish important phenomena: is, like sex, affected contexts can reduce degree represented terms their race.