Defense Date
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Jeffrey D. Green
Second Advisor
Kirk W. Brown
Third Advisor
David Chester
Abstract
The rapid escalation of political polarization has led to increased social distancing, aggressive partisan behavior, and discriminatory attitudes among Democrats and Republicans. Prior research has indicated that mindfulness is associated with increased compassion, reduced prejudice, and diminished aggression toward out-group members. This thesis investigates the relationship between trait mindfulness and political polarization by examining neural responses and emotional orientations in individuals with varying levels of mindfulness. This research measured brain activity using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) while participants viewed emotionally charged political videos and neutral content. The primary hypothesis suggested that individuals with high trait mindfulness would exhibit left-lateralized prefrontal activation, indicating an approach orientation, whereas those with low trait mindfulness would show right-lateralized activation, suggesting avoidance-oriented neural patterns. The findings provided no support for this hypothesis. Laterality index (LI) analyses revealed greater activity in the left prefrontal cortex (PFC) across most channels; however, Spearman's rank correlation analyses did not reveal significant correlations between MAAS scores and neural activities in the hypothesized brain regions (p values ranged from -0.144 to 0.143, all p > 0.05). Further analysis using representational similarity analysis (RSA) identified significant channels in the Left Middle Frontal Gyrus, Superior Frontal Gyrus, and the Right Superior and Middle Frontal Gyrus that exhibited brain-behavior similarity for the emotional representation of disgust and fear. The RSA findings showed significant correlations in the Left Superior Frontal Gyrus (dmPFC 6) with r = 0.11, p < 0.05, and the Right Superior Frontal Gyrus (dmPFC 14) with r = 0.06, p < 0.05, among others, indicating significant neural synchronization modulated by mindfulness. Interestingly, no regions showed significant brain-behavior similarity scores for the emotional representations of anger, joy, and sadness, suggesting these emotions might be processed differently or that the neural mechanisms underlying these emotions are less sensitive to trait mindfulness. By showing that trait mindfulness is linked to specific brain activation patterns during politically charged stimuli, the study highlights the potential for mindfulness to enhance neural responses, particularly in the context of negative emotional stimuli related to political partisanship. This research offers a promising avenue for developing mindfulness-based interventions to reduce political biases and foster more constructive political discourse, advancing our understanding of how trait mindfulness influences neural and emotional responses in the context of political polarization.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
10-28-2024