Linking neuroscience to political intolerance and political judgment

There is substantial evidence that intolerance arises from perceptions of d ifference. A prevailing view holds that even if intolerance is understandab le as a defense mechanism, or as an attitude intended to ward off threateni ng groups and noxious activities, it often is the result of human irrationa lity and indulgence of prejudice. This conclusion is supported by studies t hat seem to demonstrate the apparent irrelevance of the actual level of thr eat to levels of intolerance. These studies show human actions attendant to diversity are caused by established convictions (i,e,, prejudice) rather t han by the degree of threat. However, informed by theoretical approaches pr ovided by neuroscientists, we report findings that threat is, indeed, a pro vocative factor that modifies political tolerance in predictable ways. Prev ious studies defined threat as probabilistic assessments of the likelihood of bad events. When threat is defined as novelty and normative violations ( i.e., as departures from expected, or normal, occurrence), then consistent relationships to intolerance are obtained.