Who Can Deviate from the Party Line? Political Ideology Moderates Evaluation of Incongruent Policy Positions in Insula and Anterior Cingulate Cortex

Political polarization at the elite level is a major concern in many contemporary democracies, which is argued to alienate large swaths of the electorate and prevent meaningful social change from occurring, yet little is known about how individuals respond to political candidates who deviate from the party line and express policy positions incongruent with their party affiliations. This experiment examines the neural underpinnings of such evaluations using functional MRI (fMRI). During fMRI, participants completed an experimental task where they evaluated policy positions attributed to hypothetical political candidates. Each block of trials focused on one candidate (Democrat or Republican), but all participants saw two candidates from each party in a randomized order. On each trial, participants received information about whether the candidate supported or opposed a specific policy issue. These issue positions varied in terms of congruence between issue position and candidate party affiliation. We modeled neural activity as a function of incongruence and whether participants were viewing ingroup or outgroup party candidates. Results suggest that neural activity in brain regions previously implicated in both evaluative processing and work on ideological differences (insula and anterior cingulate cortex) differed as a function of the interaction between incongruence, candidate type (ingroup versus outgroup), and political ideology. More liberal participants showed greater activation to incongruent versus congruent trials in insula and ACC, primarily when viewing ingroup candidates. Implications for the study of democratic representation and linkages between citizens’ calls for social change and policy implementation are discussed.     

Does Enhanced Veto Authority Centralize Government?

Previous theoretical and empirical research findsenhanced veto authority has little systematic effecton level of spending. This paper takes a new tact,examining the effect of veto power on thecentralization of governmental services. It proposesand tests a model of federalism in which differenttypes of veto authority lead to differing degrees ofcentralization when the executive and legislature havedisparate preferences over the level of governmentthat should provide services. Empirical resultsindicate governors in the United States use enhancedveto authority to centralize state and localgovernment spending.     

Dissociation and variability of adult attachment dimensions and early maladaptive schemas in sexual and violent offenders

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of constructs that may indicate the presence of disorganized attachment style in sexual and violent offenders. Constructs measured were dissociation, variability on self-report measures of attachment style and early maladaptive schemas, and variability in observed behavior. Data on variability was collected at four time intervals, approximately 3 weeks apart. No differences between the groups were found in variability of self-reported attachment style. Both offending groups showed greater variability in early schemas and higher levels of dissociation than the nonoffending group. Sex offenders showed greater variability than violent offenders in behaviors related to distress.     

Digital analysis of experimental human bitemarks: application of two new methods

Bitemark determination in forensic odontology is commonly performed by comparing the morphology of the dentition of the suspect with life-sized photographs of injury on the victim's skin using transparent overlays or computers. The purpose of this study is to investigate the suitability of two new different methods for identification of bitemarks by digital analysis. A sample of 50 volunteers was asked to make experimental bitemarks on the arms of each other. Stone study casts were prepared from upper and lower dental arches of each volunteer. The bitemarks and the study casts were photographed; the photos were entered into the computer and Adobe Photoshop software program was applied to analyze the results. Two methods (2D polyline and Painting) of identification were used. In the 2D polyline method, fixed points were chosen on the tips of the canines and a straight line was drawn between the two fixed points in the arch (intercanine line). Straight lines passing between the incisal edges of the incisors were drawn vertically on the intercanine line; the lines and angles created were calculated. In the painting method, identification was based on canine-to-canine distance, tooth width and the thickness, and rotational value of each tooth. The results showed that both methods were applicable. However, the 2D polyline method was more convenient to use and gave prompt computer-read results, whereas the painting method depended on the visual reading of the operator.