Caveman Politics

How evolution impacts politics.

Gregg R. Murray Ph.D.

Power Corrupts…And Testosterone Corrupts Absolutely?

We’re all familiar with the cynical warning about leaders: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” But research shows there's more to corruption than just power. And that "more" may be everyone's favorite sex hormone.

7 Key Questions to Ask During Your Grad School Interview

It’s the beginning of the interview season for applicants to PhD programs. You want to be prepared to convey to them that you’re a serious student with a firm grasp of the arduous journey you’re hoping to undertake with them. One way to demonstrate your serious intent and grasp of the task is by the questions you ask during the interview.

George Bernard Shaw, Imagination, And The Leaders We Get

Our imaginations are incredibly powerful. And if you listen to a Nobel Prize and Academy Award winner, and pay attention to a lot of research, you’ll see the leaders we get reflect our imaginations.

Table: Weight, Height, and BMI Estimates

Are You Going to Make a Weighty Decision on Tuesday?

We like our leaders big. Despite the head scratching this phenomenon causes, I can’t escape this finding in my research. This may show why.

The Sweet Sexual Smell of Your Politics

Can we smell the politics of our mates?

5 Dirty Little Secrets about Getting a PhD

So you’re thinking about getting a PhD? See these dirty little secrets about getting a PhD, which may save you years of work and thousands of dollars.

You Could See It Coming: Chronic War Stress, Chronic Disease

The Israelis and Palestinians live cheek by jowl, and the threat of immediate violence brutally lingers for both, sometimes with devastating health consequences. This shows, once again, that biology can affect our politics, and politics can affect our biology.

How Does Smell Affect Your Politics of Sex?

Smell your email? Apparently, now you can. Humans can detect up to 1 trillion scents, some of which aren't that palatable. And the ones that disgust us may actually affect our political attitudes, particularly toward sexual behavior.

The Bergdahl-Taliban Prisoner Exchange and Evolution

War is always an evocative public issue and frequently implicated with evolutionary considerations, and the reaction to the Bergdahl-Taliban prisoner exchange could not make that more clear.

Voting and Stress: Do Hormones Make You a Better Citizen?

The hormone cortisol prepares you for challenges, including in the voting booth.

Not Polite Company: Menstrual Cycles, Politics and Science

Will you jump with me into the middle of a couple of hot controversies? One relates to an issue that polite company didn’t publicly discuss in the not-too-distant past, and the other is a very important issue to anybody concerned with the validity of scientific research…ummm, that would be basically everyone.

Two Experts “Read” Politicians’ Body Language. Can You?

Less than 10% of communication is spoken words. Most communication comes through body language and some through tone of voice. Take the tests and read what the experts say to find out if you can see through politicians' spoken words to know what they're really saying.

Achoo! I'll Vote for Beautiful You

Good looking candidates tend to win. But is it because they're good looking or because of what being good looking signals to voters?

“Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover”: Faces, Height, & Leaders

It’s very clear that in the complicated world of politics we do a lot of cover judging. Candidate faces matter. Candidate height matters. And this research suggests that candidate faces and heights get entangled in very interesting ways that also matter.

Hungry Games: How Does Hunger Affect Your Politics?

How does hunger affect your political views? The effect is powerful, but research suggests our charitable talk may be "cheap."

Locker Room Bullying: Could It Be A “Laughing Matter"?

Let's take a looks at bullying in locker rooms in terms of leader-follower relations and the possible role of this form of “humor” in strengthening team unity.

Bullying in the NFL: Are Pro Football Players “Mean Girls”?

A lot of crazy things go on in the world of professional football. It’s not that surprising since it’s a violent world populated by rich 20 somethings who by definition are freaks of nature. So I gave up long ago trying to make sense of some of the things that go on in the NFL. But the recent incident on the Miami Dolphins is even a stunner to me.

Male Politicians and Sexual Misbehavior: An Update

There's new research that shines an interesting, informative, and controversial light on some politicians’ remarkably boneheaded sexual behavior.

Are You an ‘Ist? Racist, Sexist, Ageist, or “Categorizist”?

Are you an ‘ist: racist, sexist, ageist, or other? Differences in skin, sex, or age are not the problem. The problem is how we react to differences in people in general. We have what are most likely evolutionarily derived psychological mechanisms for categorizing people and objects, which we use to keep from being overwhelmed with information.

Re-electing Rascals: Politicians, Sex, and Voters

How do sexually reckless politicians survive politically?

US Presidential Candidate Gary Hart with Donna Rice

Sexcapades at City Hall: Politicians and Bad Sexual Behavior

Anyone watching the news this last week got treated to the full monty of politics and sex with some reporters tittering about electronic flashing by New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner and others shaking their heads in disbelief at the brazen sexual predation of San Diego mayor Bob Filner.

Pic: King George III stamp

Bad King George! Why Leaders Hope We Trust Them

Why would the puny colonies take on the muscular British Empire against long odds?

Baby Names: 2 Reasons We Name Our Kids What We Name Them

It’s June. Flowers are blooming. The weather is warming. And love is in the air. June is a popular month to get married and often thought of as the traditional month of nuptials in the US. The arrival of the wedding season also arouses thoughts of the arrival of other things…babies. Why do we give our little bundles of joy the names we give them?

Which of the 5 Political Moralizers are PT Blog readers?

Want to know what your fellow PT blog readers are like? Hundreds of them answered a questionnaire on political moralizing. The results are in, and they say interesting things about our fellow PT blog readers.

Are the Sounds of Strength Signs of Leadership?

Animals interpret vocal sounds as signals of physical and social power and so do humans.

3 Cool Studies on Predicting Behavior & 5 Causes for Concern

Is scientific "foreknowledge" of people’s bad behavior a good thing? Here are 3 amazing scientific studies that use tests available now for biological characteristics associated with antisocial behavior and 5 reasons you should care about these "advances."

Graph: Political Moralizing & Party Identification

Which of the 5 Types of Political Moralizer are You?

People often use several factors to think about politics. And some of these factors include issues of morality. Find out what kind of political moralizer you are and compare yourself to others.

Image: Brain activity

Why Politics Makes Your Head Hurt

Watching politics makes my head hurt sometimes. It’s pretty clear there are times when politicians simply don’t comprehend what the other side is saying. It’s as if they are unable to mentally process what is being said by their opponents.

Our Genes and Anti-Immigration Attitudes

I all too well remember talks with my young daughter about “stranger danger”: don’t talk to strangers, don’t accept gifts from strangers, and for goodness’ sake just be careful. Stranger danger is not a fear that is reserved just for our little ones. It appears to play a role in our grown-up political attitudes as well.

Could Disgust Make You an Environmentalist?

Surveys show big differences in partisans’ attitudes about climate change. For example, a 2010 poll found 82% of Democrats see global warming as a “serious” problem while 41% of Republicans (half) believe the same. Few issues in politics manifest such a large partisan divide. Certain questions may be the key to understanding different people’s beliefs about global warming.