The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation - Hardcover

Westen, Drew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1586484257 ISBN 13: 9781586484255

Publisher: PublicAffairs, 2007

Synopsis

The Political Brain is a groundbreaking investigation into the role of emotion in determining the political life of the nation. For two decades Drew Westen, professor of psychology and psychiatry at Emory University, has explored a theory of the mind that differs substantially from the more "dispassionate" notions held by most cognitive psychologists, political scientists, and economists—and Democratic campaign strategists. The idea of the mind as a cool calculator that makes decisions by weighing the evidence bears no relation to how the brain actually works. When political candidates assume voters dispassionately make decisions based on "the issues," they lose. That's why only one Democrat has been re-elected to the presidency since Franklin Roosevelt—and only one Republican has failed in that quest.

In politics, when reason and emotion collide, emotion invariably wins. Elections are decided in the marketplace of emotions, a marketplace filled with values, images, analogies, moral sentiments, and moving oratory, in which logic plays only a supporting role. Westen shows, through a whistle-stop journey through the evolution of the passionate brain and a bravura tour through fifty years of American presidential and national elections, why campaigns succeed and fail. The evidence is overwhelming that three things determine how people vote, in this order: their feelings toward the parties and their principles, their feelings toward the candidates, and, if they haven't decided by then, their feelings toward the candidates' policy positions.

Westen turns conventional political analyses on their head, suggesting that the question for Democratic politics isn't so much about moving to the right or the left but about moving the electorate. He shows how it can be done through examples of what candidates have said—or could have said—in debates, speeches, and ads. Westen's discoveries could utterly transform electoral arithmetic, showing how a different view of the mind and brain leads to a different way of talking with voters about issues that have tied the tongues of Democrats for much of forty years—such as abortion, guns, taxes, and race. You can't change the structure of the brain. But you can change the way you appeal to it. And here's how...

About this title

About the Author

Drew Westen received his B.A. at Harvard, an M.A. in Social and Political Thought at the University of Sussex (England), and his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Michigan, where he subsequently taught for six years. For several years he was Chief Psychologist at Cambridge Hospital and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. He is a commentator on NPR's "All Things Considered" and lives in Atlanta.

From AudioFile

Everyone likes to think that people vote rationally after having carefully considered a variety of policies and chosen the best ones. Sadly, that is not the case, says psychologist Drew Westen. He believes he has proven that voters respond emotionally and will subconsciously ignore facts and other information that contradict their selection or preference. Westen describes the psychology then gives examples of politicians who are successful in creating an emotional bond with voters and those who fail. Anthony HealdÕs well-paced narration gives the listener time to digest the bookÕs complex ideas. His voice is strong and clear, and his diction is superb. As election day 2008 approaches, this discussion is worth the investment of time. J.B.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1586484257
• ISBN 13: 9781586484255
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 457