The psychological traits that shape your political beliefs | Dannagal G. Young

Translator: Óscar Varela Reviewer: Xosé María Moreno

I'm a political and social psychologist.

Son psicóloga política e social.

I study how people understand the world

Estudo como a xente entende o mundo

and what this means for society and for democracy ...

e o que isto significa para a sociedade e a democracia,

which, as it turns out, is quite a lot.

que resulta ser moito.

Some people see the world as safe and good,

Algúns ven un mundo seguro e bo,

and this allows them to be OK with uncertainty

o que lles permite tolerar a incerteza

and to take time to explore and play.

e tomarse tempo para explorar e disfrutar.

Others are acutely aware of threats in their environment,

Outros son sumamente conscientes dos perigos do seu entorno,

so they prioritize order and predictability

co cal, lle dan prioridade á orde e ao predicible

over openness and experimentation.

fronte á apertura e á experimentación.

In my academic research,

Na miña investigación académica

I study how these two approaches shape how we think and feel

estudo como estas dúas posturas definen como pensamos e sentimos

about everything from art to politics.

en canto a todo o que hai entre a arte e a política.

I also explore how political elites

Tamén exploro como as elites políticas

and partisan media use these very differences

e os medios partidistas usan estas diferenzas

to engender hatred and fear

para xerar odio e medo

and how the economics of our media system exploit these same divides.

e como a economía do sistema de medios explota estas mesmas diferenzas.

But after studying this,

Pero, tras estudar isto,

I have come away not with a sense that we are doomed to be divided

non me quedei coa idea de que estamos condenados a estar divididos,

but that it's up to us to see both sets of traits

senón que é cousa nosa considerar os dous conxuntos de trazos

as necessary and even valuable.

necesarios e incluso valiosos.

Take for example two men who have been so influential in my own life.

Por exemplo, dous homes que foron moi influíntes na miña vida.

First, my late husband, Mike.

Primeiro, o meu difunto marido, Mike.

He was an artist who saw the world as safe and good.

Era un artista que vía un mundo seguro e bo.

He welcomed ambiguity and play in his life.

Gustáballe a ambigüidade e divertirse na súa vida.

In fact, we met through improv comedy

De feito, coñecímonos na comedia improvisada

where he taught improvisers to listen and be open

onde el ensinaba aos improvisadores a escoitar e a ser abertos

and to be comfortable not knowing what was going to happen next.

e a estar cómodos sen saber o que ía suceder despois.

After we got married and had our baby boy,

Despois de casarnos e de ter un bebé,

Mike was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

a Mike diagnosticáronlle un tumor cerebral.

And through months of hospitalizations and surgeries,

Durante meses de hospitais e cirurxías

I followed Mike's lead,

copiei o que facía Mike

trying to practice being open,

e intentei practicar a ser aberta

trying to be OK not knowing what was going to happen next.

e estar ben sen saber o que ía suceder despois.

It was Mike's tolerance for ambiguity

Foi a súa tolerancia cara á ambigüidade

that allowed me to survive those months of uncertainty,

a que me permitiu sobrevivir a eses meses de incerteza

and that helped me explore new ways to rebuild my life after he died.

e axudoume a explorar novas formas de reconstruír a miña vida tras a súa morte.

About a year and a half after Mike passed away,

Despois de un ano e medio despois de que morrese Mike,

I met my current husband, PJ.

coñecín o meu marido actual, PJ.

PJ is a criminal prosecutor

PJ é un avogado penalista

who sees the world as potentially good

que ve o mundo como potencialmente bo

provided that threats are properly managed.

sempre que os perigos se xestionen ben.

He also is someone who embraces order and predictability

Tamén prefire a orde e o predicible:

in his daily routine,

na súa vida diaria,

in the foods that he eats,

na súa comida,

in his selection of wardrobe.

na selección da súa roupa.

And PJ has a vicious wit,

E PJ ten un humor despiadado,

but he's also morally very serious

pero, moralmente, tamén é moi serio

with a strong sense of duty and purpose.

cun gran sentido do deber e determinación.

And he values tradition, loyalty and family,

E valora a tradición, lealdade e familia,

which is why at the age of 28

por iso, cando tiña 28 anos

he did not hesitate to marry a widow,

non dubidou en casar cunha viúva,

adopt her baby boy

adoptar o fillo que tiña

and raise him as his son.

e crialo coma se fose seu.

It was PJ's need for certainty and closure

A necesidade de PJ de certeza e de peche

that brought stability to our lives.

trouxo estabilidade ás nosas vidas.

I share these two stories of Mike and PJ

Comparto estas dúas historias de Mike e PJ

not just because they're personal,

non só por ser persoais,

but because they illustrate two things that I have found in my own research.

senón porque ilustran dúas cousas que descubrín cando investigaba.

First, that our psychological traits shape how we engage with the world,

Primeiro, que os nosos trazos psicolóxicos definen a nosa relación co mundo

and second,

e segundo,

that both of these approaches make all of our lives possible.

que estas dúas posturas son totalmente posibles para as nosas vidas.

Tragically though, political and economic incentives of our media environment

É triste que os incentivos políticos e económicos do noso entorno mediático

seek to exploit these differences

busquen explotar estas diferenzas

to get us angry,

para que nos enfademos,

to get our attention,

para que nos chame a atención,

to get clicks

para que fagamos clic

and to turn us against one another.

e para que nos enfrontemos entre nós.

And it works.

E funciona.

It works in part because these same sets of traits

Funciona, en parte, porque estes mesmos conxuntos de trazos

are related to core political and cultural beliefs.

están relacionados coas crenzas políticas e culturais máis profundas.

For years, political psychologists have studied

Durante anos, os psicólogos políticos estudaron

how our psychological traits shape our political beliefs.

como os trazos psicolóxicos definen as nosas crenzas políticas.

We've conducted experiments to understand

Fixemos experimentos para entender como

how our psychology and our politics shape how we respond to apolitical stimuli.

a psicoloxía e postura política define como actuamos ante estímulos apolíticos.

And this research has shown

Esta investigación mostrou

that those people who are less concerned with threats,

que os menos preocupados polos perigos,

who are tolerant of ambiguity,

que toleran a ambigüidade,

these people tend to be more culturally and socially liberal

adoitan ser máis liberais cultural e socialmente

on matters like immigration or crime or sexuality.

en canto a temas como inmigración, crimes ou sexualidade.

And because they're tolerant of ambiguity,

E debido á súa tolerancia á ambigüidade,

they also tend to be OK with nuance

tamén adoitan aceptar os cambios

and they enjoy thinking for the sake of thinking,

e gústalles reflexionar polo mero feito de reflexionar,

which helps explain why it is

o que axuda a explicar por que

that there are distinct aesthetic preferences on the left and the right,

hai diferentes preferencias estéticas na esquerda e na dereita.

with liberals more likely than conservatives

Os liberales son máis propensos que os conservadores

to appreciate things like abstract art

para valorar cousas como a arte abstracta

or even stories that lack a clear ending.

ou incluso historias sen un final claro.

In my experimental work,

No meu traballo experimental

I've also found that these differences help explain

tamén descubrín que estas diferenzas axudan a explicar por que

why ironic, political satire is more likely to be appreciated

a sátira irónica e política é máis probable que sexa apreciada

and understood by liberals than conservatives.

e entendida polos liberales que polos conservadores.

On the other hand,

Por outro lado,

those people who are monitoring for threats,

a xente que está pendente dos perigos,

who prefer certainty and closure,

que prefiren certeza e peche,

those tend to be our political, cultural, social conservatives.

tenden a ser conservadores en canto ao político, cultural e social.

Because they're on alert,

Ao estaren alerta,

they also make decisions quickly and efficiently,

tamén toman decisións rápidas e eficaces,

guided by intuition and emotion.

guiados pola intuición e pola emoción.

And we've found that these traits help explain

E descubrimos que estes trazos axudan a explicar

why conservatives enjoy political opinion talk programming

por que aos conservadores lles gustan os programas de opinión política

that clearly and efficiently identifies threats and enemies.

que identifican clara e eficazmente os perigos e os inimigos.

What is essential though

Porén, é esencial

is that these propensities are not absolute --

que estas propensións non son absolutas,

they're not fixed.

non son fixas.

There are liberals who are monitoring for threats

Hai liberais que analizan os perigos,

just as there are conservatives who are tolerant of ambiguity.

así como hai conservadores que toleran a ambigüidade.

In fact, PJ's political beliefs

De feito, as crenzas políticas de PJ

are not that radically different from those that Mike held.

non son radicalmente diferentes ás de Mike.

The link between psychology and politics is contingent on context:

A relación entre a psicoloxía e a política depende do contexto:

who we're with and what's going on around us.

con quen estamos e que pasa ao noso redor.

The problem is that right now,

O problema é que neste momento,

our dominant context,

o noso contexto dominante,

our political and media context,

o noso contexto político e mediático

actually needs these differences to be absolute,

necesita que estas diferenzas sexan absolutas

to be reinforced

para poder ratificalas

and even to be weaponized.

ou incluso para convertelas en armas.

For reasons related to power and profit,

Debido ao poder e a querer gañar cartos,

some in politics and media want us to believe

hai xente na política e nos medios que queren que creamos

that those people who approach the world differently from us --

que a xente que percibe o mundo de xeito diferente a nós,

the Mikes or the PJs --

os Mike ou os PJ,

themselves are dangerous.

son perigosos.

And social media platforms use algorithms and microtargeting

E as redes sociais usan algoritmos e o «microtargeting»

to deliver divisive messages

para mandarnos mensaxes divisorias

in our preferred messaging aesthetic.

personalizadas para o gusto de cada un.

Messages that relate to politics, culture and race.

Mensaxes relacioandas coa política, a cultura e a raza.

And we see the devastating effects of these messages every single day.

Todos os días vemos os efectos devastadores que teñen estas mensaxes.

Americans who are angry and fearful of the other side.

Estadounidenses que se enfadan e lle teñen medo aos do outro bando.

Charges of the other side destroying America.

Ataques do outro bando que destrúen o país.

But stop and think for a moment.

Pero parádevos e pensade un segundo.

What would happen if those differences had never been weaponized?

Que pasaría se esas diferenzas nunca se convertesen en armas?

It is liberal inclinations towards openness and flexibility

A tendencia liberal de cara á apertura e á flexibilidade

that allow us to cope with uncertainty

permítenos lidar coa incerteza

and that allow us to explore new paths towards innovation, creativity --

e explorar novos camiños car a innovación, creatividade

scientific discovery.

ou descubrimentos científicos.

Think of things like space travel or cures for diseases

Pensade en cousas como viaxar ao espazo ou en curas para enfermidades

or art that imagines and reimagines a better world.

ou nunha arte que imaxine e reimaxine un mundo mellor.

And those conservative inclinations towards vigilance and security

E as tendencias conservadoras cara a vixilancia, seguridade

and tradition.

e tradición.

These are the things that motivate us

Estas cousas motívannos

to do what must be done

a facer o que se debe facer

for our own protection and stability.

para a nosa protección e estabilidade.

Think of the safety that's offered by our armed forces

Pensade na seguridade que nos ofrecen as nosas forzas armadas

or the security of our banking system.

ou na seguridade do noso sistema bancario.

Or think about the stability

Ou pensade na estabilidade

that's offered by such democratic institutions as jury duty,

que ofrecen as institucións democráticas como os xurados

or cultural traditions like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

ou as tradicións culturais como os fogos artificiais do 4 de xullo.

What if the real threat posed to society and democracy

E se a ameaza real que se lle presenta á sociedade e á democracia

is not actually posed by the other side?

non é por parte do outro bando?

What if the real danger is posed by political and media elites

¿E se o perigo real vén por parte das elites políticas e mediáticas

who try to get us to think

que intentan facernos crer

that we'd be better off without the other side

que estariamos mellor sen o outro bando

and who use these divisions for their own personal,

e que usan estas divisións para o seu propio beneficio personal,

financial, political benefit?

financieiro e político?

Mike and PJ engaged with the world very differently,

Mike e PJ vían o mundo de formas moi diferentes,

but these distinct approaches continue to enrich my life every day.

pero estas dúas percepcións tan distintas enriquecen a miña vida todos os días.

Instead of our political and media context

No canto de que o noso contexto político e mediático

determining that the other side is the enemy

determine que o outro bando é o inimigo

and lulling us into believing that that's true,

e nos faga crer que iso é verdade,

what if we choose to create the context?

Que tal se escollemos crear nós o contexto?

Real people connecting with other real people,

Xente real que conecte con outra xente real

appreciating these two approaches for what they are:

e valoren estes dous puntos de vista polo que son:

necessary gifts that can help us all survive and thrive together.

accións necesarias que nos axuden a sobrevivir e prosperar xuntos.

Thank you.

Grazas.