Brains, Media and Politics

Brains, Media and Politics

Author: Rodolfo Leyva

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-11-25

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 0429670834

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Following the 2007–2008 global financial crisis, a number of prominent academics, journalists, and activists were quick to pronounce the demise of neoliberal capitalism and governance. This rather optimistic prediction, however, underestimated the extent to which neoliberalism has shaped the 21st-century world order and become entrenched in our sociopolitical and cognitive fabric. Indeed, 11 years after the crisis, and in spite of the significant levels of socioeconomic inequality, psychological distress, and environmental destruction generated by neoliberal policies and corresponding business and cultural practices, the ideological hegemony of neoliberalism has not been supplanted, nor has it really faced any serious unsettling. How, then, has neoliberalism inflected and shaped our “common-sense” understandings of what is politically, economically, and culturally viable? To help answer this question, this book combines leading theories from sociology, media-communication research, developmental psychology, and cognitive science, and draws on primary evidence from a unique mix of ethnographic, survey, and experimental studies – of young people’s leisure practices and educational experiences, of young adults’ political socialisation processes in relation to exposure to social networking sites, and of the effects of commercial media viewing on material values and support for social welfare. In doing so, it provides a nuanced and robustly empirically tested account of how the conscious and non-conscious cognitive dimensions of people’s subjectivities and everyday social practices become interpellated through and reproductive of neoliberal ideology. As such, this book will appeal to scholars across the social and behavioural sciences with interests in neoliberalism, political engagement, enculturation, social reproduction, and media effects.


Book Synopsis Brains, Media and Politics by : Rodolfo Leyva

Download or read book Brains, Media and Politics written by Rodolfo Leyva and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-11-25 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following the 2007–2008 global financial crisis, a number of prominent academics, journalists, and activists were quick to pronounce the demise of neoliberal capitalism and governance. This rather optimistic prediction, however, underestimated the extent to which neoliberalism has shaped the 21st-century world order and become entrenched in our sociopolitical and cognitive fabric. Indeed, 11 years after the crisis, and in spite of the significant levels of socioeconomic inequality, psychological distress, and environmental destruction generated by neoliberal policies and corresponding business and cultural practices, the ideological hegemony of neoliberalism has not been supplanted, nor has it really faced any serious unsettling. How, then, has neoliberalism inflected and shaped our “common-sense” understandings of what is politically, economically, and culturally viable? To help answer this question, this book combines leading theories from sociology, media-communication research, developmental psychology, and cognitive science, and draws on primary evidence from a unique mix of ethnographic, survey, and experimental studies – of young people’s leisure practices and educational experiences, of young adults’ political socialisation processes in relation to exposure to social networking sites, and of the effects of commercial media viewing on material values and support for social welfare. In doing so, it provides a nuanced and robustly empirically tested account of how the conscious and non-conscious cognitive dimensions of people’s subjectivities and everyday social practices become interpellated through and reproductive of neoliberal ideology. As such, this book will appeal to scholars across the social and behavioural sciences with interests in neoliberalism, political engagement, enculturation, social reproduction, and media effects.

Your Brain's Politics

Your Brain's Politics

Author: George Lakoff

Publisher: Andrews UK Limited

Published: 2016-11-08

Total Pages: 141

ISBN-13: 1845409256

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At first glance, issues like economic inequality, healthcare, climate change, and abortion seem unrelated. However, when thinking and talking about them, people reliably fall into two camps: conservative and liberal. What explains this divide? Why do conservatives and liberals hold the positions they do? And what is the conceptual nature of those who decide elections, commonly called the "political middle"? The answers are profound. They have to do with how our minds and brains work. Political attitudes are the product of what cognitive scientists call Embodied Cognition — the grounding of abstract thought in everyday world experience. Clashing beliefs about how to run nations largely arise from conflicting beliefs about family life: conservatives endorse a strict father and liberals a nurturant parent model. So-called "middle" voters are not in the middle at all. They are morally biconceptual, divided between both models, and as a result highly susceptible to moral political persuasion. In this brief introduction, Lakoff and Wehling reveal how cognitive science research has advanced our understanding of political thought and language, forcing us to revise common folk theories about the rational voter.


Book Synopsis Your Brain's Politics by : George Lakoff

Download or read book Your Brain's Politics written by George Lakoff and published by Andrews UK Limited. This book was released on 2016-11-08 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At first glance, issues like economic inequality, healthcare, climate change, and abortion seem unrelated. However, when thinking and talking about them, people reliably fall into two camps: conservative and liberal. What explains this divide? Why do conservatives and liberals hold the positions they do? And what is the conceptual nature of those who decide elections, commonly called the "political middle"? The answers are profound. They have to do with how our minds and brains work. Political attitudes are the product of what cognitive scientists call Embodied Cognition — the grounding of abstract thought in everyday world experience. Clashing beliefs about how to run nations largely arise from conflicting beliefs about family life: conservatives endorse a strict father and liberals a nurturant parent model. So-called "middle" voters are not in the middle at all. They are morally biconceptual, divided between both models, and as a result highly susceptible to moral political persuasion. In this brief introduction, Lakoff and Wehling reveal how cognitive science research has advanced our understanding of political thought and language, forcing us to revise common folk theories about the rational voter.

Processing Politics

Processing Politics

Author: Doris A. Graber

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2012-07-15

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 0226924769

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How often do we hear that Americans are so ignorant about politics that their civic competence is impaired, and that the media are to blame because they do a dismal job of informing the public? Processing Politics shows that average Americans are far smarter than the critics believe. Integrating a broad range of current research on how people learn (from political science, social psychology, communication, physiology, and artificial intelligence), Doris Graber shows that televised presentations—at their best—actually excel at transmitting information and facilitating learning. She critiques current political offerings in terms of their compatibility with our learning capacities and interests, and she considers the obstacles, both economic and political, that affect the content we receive on the air, on cable, or on the Internet. More and more people rely on information from television and the Internet to make important decisions. Processing Politics offers a sound, well-researched defense of these remarkably versatile media, and challenges us to make them work for us in our democracy.


Book Synopsis Processing Politics by : Doris A. Graber

Download or read book Processing Politics written by Doris A. Graber and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2012-07-15 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How often do we hear that Americans are so ignorant about politics that their civic competence is impaired, and that the media are to blame because they do a dismal job of informing the public? Processing Politics shows that average Americans are far smarter than the critics believe. Integrating a broad range of current research on how people learn (from political science, social psychology, communication, physiology, and artificial intelligence), Doris Graber shows that televised presentations—at their best—actually excel at transmitting information and facilitating learning. She critiques current political offerings in terms of their compatibility with our learning capacities and interests, and she considers the obstacles, both economic and political, that affect the content we receive on the air, on cable, or on the Internet. More and more people rely on information from television and the Internet to make important decisions. Processing Politics offers a sound, well-researched defense of these remarkably versatile media, and challenges us to make them work for us in our democracy.

The Political Mind

The Political Mind

Author: George Lakoff

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 9780670019274

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A New York Times best-selling author explains how the physical nature of the brain affects people's political decisions, suggesting that changing one's mind is just as much a physical process as it is a psychological function. By the author of Don't Think of an Elephant! 60,000 first printing.


Book Synopsis The Political Mind by : George Lakoff

Download or read book The Political Mind written by George Lakoff and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2008 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times best-selling author explains how the physical nature of the brain affects people's political decisions, suggesting that changing one's mind is just as much a physical process as it is a psychological function. By the author of Don't Think of an Elephant! 60,000 first printing.

Intervention in the Brain

Intervention in the Brain

Author: Robert H. Blank

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 381

ISBN-13: 0262018918

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The political and policy implications of recent developments in neuroscience, including new techniques in imaging and neurogenetics. New findings in neuroscience have given us unprecedented knowledge about the workings of the brain. Innovative research--much of it based on neuroimaging results--suggests not only treatments for neural disorders but also the possibility of increasingly precise and effective ways to predict, modify, and control behavior. In this book, Robert Blank examines the complex ethical and policy issues raised by our new capabilities of intervention in the brain. After surveying current knowledge about the brain and describing a wide range of experimental and clinical interventions--from behavior-modifying drugs to neural implants to virtual reality--Blank discusses the political and philosophical implications of these scientific advances. If human individuality is simply a product of a network of manipulable nerve cell connections, and if aggressive behavior is a treatable biochemical condition, what happens to our conceptions of individual responsibility, autonomy, and free will? In light of new neuroscientific possibilities, Blank considers such topics as informed consent, addiction, criminal justice, racism, commercial and military applications of neuroscience research, new ways to define death, and political ideology and partisanship. Our political and social institutions have not kept pace with the rapid advances in neuroscience. This book shows why the political issues surrounding the application of this new research should be debated before interventions in the brain become routine.


Book Synopsis Intervention in the Brain by : Robert H. Blank

Download or read book Intervention in the Brain written by Robert H. Blank and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The political and policy implications of recent developments in neuroscience, including new techniques in imaging and neurogenetics. New findings in neuroscience have given us unprecedented knowledge about the workings of the brain. Innovative research--much of it based on neuroimaging results--suggests not only treatments for neural disorders but also the possibility of increasingly precise and effective ways to predict, modify, and control behavior. In this book, Robert Blank examines the complex ethical and policy issues raised by our new capabilities of intervention in the brain. After surveying current knowledge about the brain and describing a wide range of experimental and clinical interventions--from behavior-modifying drugs to neural implants to virtual reality--Blank discusses the political and philosophical implications of these scientific advances. If human individuality is simply a product of a network of manipulable nerve cell connections, and if aggressive behavior is a treatable biochemical condition, what happens to our conceptions of individual responsibility, autonomy, and free will? In light of new neuroscientific possibilities, Blank considers such topics as informed consent, addiction, criminal justice, racism, commercial and military applications of neuroscience research, new ways to define death, and political ideology and partisanship. Our political and social institutions have not kept pace with the rapid advances in neuroscience. This book shows why the political issues surrounding the application of this new research should be debated before interventions in the brain become routine.

The Political Mind

The Political Mind

Author: George Lakoff

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2008-05-29

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 1440637830

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A groundbreaking scientific examination of the way our brains understand politics from a New York Times bestselling author One of the world 's best-known linguists and cognitive scientists, George Lakoff has a knack for making science make sense for general readers. In his new book, Lakoff spells out what cognitive science has discovered about reason, and reveals that human reason is far more interesting than we thought it was. Reason is physical, mostly unconscious, metaphorical, emotion-laden, and tied to empathy-and there are biological explanations behind our moral and political thought processes. His call for a New Enlightenment is a bold and striking challenge to the cherished beliefs not only of philosophers, but of pundits, pollsters, and political leaders. The Political Mind is a passionate, erudite, and groundbreaking book that will appeal to anyone interested in how the mind works and how we function socially and politically.


Book Synopsis The Political Mind by : George Lakoff

Download or read book The Political Mind written by George Lakoff and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2008-05-29 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A groundbreaking scientific examination of the way our brains understand politics from a New York Times bestselling author One of the world 's best-known linguists and cognitive scientists, George Lakoff has a knack for making science make sense for general readers. In his new book, Lakoff spells out what cognitive science has discovered about reason, and reveals that human reason is far more interesting than we thought it was. Reason is physical, mostly unconscious, metaphorical, emotion-laden, and tied to empathy-and there are biological explanations behind our moral and political thought processes. His call for a New Enlightenment is a bold and striking challenge to the cherished beliefs not only of philosophers, but of pundits, pollsters, and political leaders. The Political Mind is a passionate, erudite, and groundbreaking book that will appeal to anyone interested in how the mind works and how we function socially and politically.

The Political Brain

The Political Brain

Author: Drew Westen

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 2008-05-06

Total Pages: 497

ISBN-13: 1586485997

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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


Book Synopsis The Political Brain by : Drew Westen

Download or read book The Political Brain written by Drew Westen and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2008-05-06 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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

Political Animals

Political Animals

Author: Rick Shenkman

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2016-01-05

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 0465073824

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Can a football game affect the outcome of an election? What about shark attacks? Or a drought? In a rational world the answer, of course, would be no. But as bestselling historian Rick Shenkman explains in Political Animals, our world is anything but rational. Drawing on science, politics, and history, Shenkman explores the hidden forces behind our often illogical choices. Political Animals challenges us to go beyond the headlines, which often focus on what politicians do (or say they'll do), and to concentrate instead on what's really important: what shapes our response. Shenkman argues that, contrary to what we tell ourselves, it's our instincts rather than arguments appealing to reason that usually prevail. Pop culture tells us we can trust our instincts, but science is proving that when it comes to politics our Stone Age brain often malfunctions, misfires, and leads us astray. Fortunately, we can learn to make our instincts work in our favor. Shenkman takes readers on a whirlwind tour of laboratories where scientists are exploring how sea slugs remember, chimpanzees practice deception, and patients whose brains have been split in two tell stories. The scientists' findings give us new ways of understanding our history and ourselves -- and prove we don't have to be prisoners of our evolutionary past." In this engaging, illuminating, and often riotous chronicle of our political culture, Shenkman probes the depths of the human mind to explore how we can become more political, and less animal.


Book Synopsis Political Animals by : Rick Shenkman

Download or read book Political Animals written by Rick Shenkman and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2016-01-05 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can a football game affect the outcome of an election? What about shark attacks? Or a drought? In a rational world the answer, of course, would be no. But as bestselling historian Rick Shenkman explains in Political Animals, our world is anything but rational. Drawing on science, politics, and history, Shenkman explores the hidden forces behind our often illogical choices. Political Animals challenges us to go beyond the headlines, which often focus on what politicians do (or say they'll do), and to concentrate instead on what's really important: what shapes our response. Shenkman argues that, contrary to what we tell ourselves, it's our instincts rather than arguments appealing to reason that usually prevail. Pop culture tells us we can trust our instincts, but science is proving that when it comes to politics our Stone Age brain often malfunctions, misfires, and leads us astray. Fortunately, we can learn to make our instincts work in our favor. Shenkman takes readers on a whirlwind tour of laboratories where scientists are exploring how sea slugs remember, chimpanzees practice deception, and patients whose brains have been split in two tell stories. The scientists' findings give us new ways of understanding our history and ourselves -- and prove we don't have to be prisoners of our evolutionary past." In this engaging, illuminating, and often riotous chronicle of our political culture, Shenkman probes the depths of the human mind to explore how we can become more political, and less animal.

Social Evolution, Political Psychology, and the Media in Democracy

Social Evolution, Political Psychology, and the Media in Democracy

Author: Peter Beattie

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-12-13

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 3030028011

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This book analyzes why we believe what we believe about politics, and how the answer affects the way democracy functions. It does so by applying social evolution theory to the relationship between the news media and politics, using the United States as its primary example. This includes a critical review and integration of the insights of a broad array of research, from evolutionary theory and political psychology to the political economy of media. The result is an empirically driven political theory on the media’s role in democracy: what role it currently plays, what role it should play, and how it can be reshaped to be more appropriate for its structural role in democracy.


Book Synopsis Social Evolution, Political Psychology, and the Media in Democracy by : Peter Beattie

Download or read book Social Evolution, Political Psychology, and the Media in Democracy written by Peter Beattie and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-12-13 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyzes why we believe what we believe about politics, and how the answer affects the way democracy functions. It does so by applying social evolution theory to the relationship between the news media and politics, using the United States as its primary example. This includes a critical review and integration of the insights of a broad array of research, from evolutionary theory and political psychology to the political economy of media. The result is an empirically driven political theory on the media’s role in democracy: what role it currently plays, what role it should play, and how it can be reshaped to be more appropriate for its structural role in democracy.

The Social Media Mind

The Social Media Mind

Author: David Amerland

Publisher: New Line Publishing

Published: 2015-10-04

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 1844819833

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Like any medium of communication social media has its own tropes which must be mastered in order to use it properly. In The Social Media Mind David Amerland illustrates how Social Media is a game changer. It challenges us to rethink our assumptions on almost every sphere where it is applied. Whether communicating through the web with potential clients, increasing the exposure of a business brand or collaborating with colleagues on shared projects, it demands that we rethink the standard responses which have guided us in the past and come up with new ones, for a new age. In carefully laid out arguments, backed by evidence and examples he answers questions like: Why do some social media marketing campaigns fail and not others?Why is social media so radically different from traditional marketing?How are social media success stories created?How can social media help save costs in business?Why is social media changing so many aspects of our world?What does it take to develop a social media mind?Over the next five years social media is going to change the nature of education, politics, business, science and even the arts. Its imperatives for greater transparency, responsiveness and engagement are behind the trends which are changing our world. This book is key to understanding how to prepare, what to do and how.


Book Synopsis The Social Media Mind by : David Amerland

Download or read book The Social Media Mind written by David Amerland and published by New Line Publishing. This book was released on 2015-10-04 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like any medium of communication social media has its own tropes which must be mastered in order to use it properly. In The Social Media Mind David Amerland illustrates how Social Media is a game changer. It challenges us to rethink our assumptions on almost every sphere where it is applied. Whether communicating through the web with potential clients, increasing the exposure of a business brand or collaborating with colleagues on shared projects, it demands that we rethink the standard responses which have guided us in the past and come up with new ones, for a new age. In carefully laid out arguments, backed by evidence and examples he answers questions like: Why do some social media marketing campaigns fail and not others?Why is social media so radically different from traditional marketing?How are social media success stories created?How can social media help save costs in business?Why is social media changing so many aspects of our world?What does it take to develop a social media mind?Over the next five years social media is going to change the nature of education, politics, business, science and even the arts. Its imperatives for greater transparency, responsiveness and engagement are behind the trends which are changing our world. This book is key to understanding how to prepare, what to do and how.