Right-wingers more startled by sudden noises and spiders than liberals, study finds



If you want to know where someone stands politically, forget asking them their views on Thatcherism or the European Union. Just burst a balloon behind their back.

It may sound bizarre, but researchers claim that conservatives are more startled by sudden noises than liberals.

The American team's findings - published in the respected journal Science - suggest that our political views are closely linked to our biology.



Anyone whose brain is hard-wired to be anxious about 'external threats', such as loud noises or unpleasant images, is more likely to support hawkish policies such as high military spending and the Iraq War, they said.

A bit jumpy? Scientists reckon they know exactly how Conservative leader David Cameron would react to seeing a spider on someone's face



In contrast, those who are less jumpy will tend to support more liberal immigration laws, pacifism and gun control.

To test their theory, the researchers recruited 46 adults with strong political beliefs.



Each was shown three threatening images - a large spider on the face of a frightened person, a dazed individual with a bloody face and an open wound with maggots on it - interspersed with 33 less disturbing pictures.

Sensors measured how much the volunteers sweated.

It was discovered that those with conservative views reacted more strongly to the disturbing pictures than those with liberal opinions.

The researchers also measured how hard participants blinked when suddenly played a loud noise.



Again, conservatives tended to be more easily startled.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln team were unsure whether people who are naturally more sensitive to threats are drawn to Right-wing politics, or whether conservatives become more jumpy.

Social scientists previously thought that political tendencies were shaped by experience, with most people getting more Right-wing with age.



But a growing body of research apparently shows that our views are inherited.