Scientists have spent the last decade examining the physiology of political thought, but they have only succeeded in identifying the symptoms and not the root cause. So, forget about the MRI studies showing that Democrats and Republicans respond differently to fear, with greater or less blood flow to specific parts of the brain >>Read More

In nature we see arms races between predators and prey. Such arms races explain why there is always very strong selection on prey to evolve new defenses. Evolutionary Biologist Geerat Vermeij has written extensively about the long evolutionary record of snails and other armored marine animals and their predators. >>Read More

In this special issue of Political Psychology, political scientists apply principles and evidence from the life sciences toward issues ranging from political ideology to political conflict. >>Read More

It’s a comforting idea, but as Jonathan Haidt explains in today’s Guardian, a feeble one that is believed because “one of the most robust findings in social psychology is that people find ways to believe whatever they want to believe”. >>Read More

Warfare and human nature seem inextricably linked. But what do we mean by “human nature,” and what evidence would we require as proof that warfare is an indelible feature of the human condition? >>Read More

Brian R. Spisak argues that ancestrally, older age tended to come with greater status, rank, and dominance, which are traits that would have correlated with success in battle. >>Read More

Science magazine assembles a group of scholars to investigate the dynamic roots of human conflict. This is Part I of a Two-Part post that will cover and review this special issue. >>Read More