The Political Brain (English)

In the battle for the hearts and minds of the American voter, says political psychologist Drew Westen, the Democratic Party is losing the battle because it is focusing too much on the latter, and not enough on the former. Politics is passions, according to Weston, who draws on recent research in brain science to support his argument that people make choices based on their emotions, and that it is possible to monitor their neural circuits to find out what "fires" them. With specific references to mistakes made in previous elections, Weston explains how the Democrats can modify the way they discuss, or do not discuss, hot-button issues in order to bring rationality and emotions into synch, and get their points across without surrendering ethics. minimize