Donald Trump, monkeys, and brain research

Election decisions are emotional decisions Neuroscience assumes that 70-80 percent of all decisions are made on an unconscious level. The remaining 30 percent are not as free as we would like them to be. In fact, neuroscientists confirm that rationality ultimately only aims for a maximum of positive emotions. Because only with positive emotions can we permanently strengthen our biological fitness and thus survive in the long term. Looking into neurobiology, it quickly becomes clear that humans are genetically related to chimpanzees by about 98 percent. Depending on the analysis method, the values ​​may be slightly lower or even higher. This relationship was particularly evident last night. When considering the aggressions on America's streets, the comparison to the rock of apes is not difficult. Election decisions are emotional decisions. After the surprising electoral success of Donald Trump, the question arises of what happened in people's brains when they voted for the Republican Donald Trump. Neuroscientists agree: Our most significant emotion system in the brain is the so-called fear-security system. It warns us of dangers and threats. It has only one goal: to restore security. In this context, economic psychologists also like to use the positively charged term security system. Personalities who know how to activate this dominant emotion system through their appearance control the unconscious emotion system of their voters. To illustrate, imagine this scenario: You are walking through the park at night, and suddenly, an armed man stands in front of you. Your limbic system responds spontaneously with a gun to your temple. Noradrenaline and cortisol rush through your body. This creates a physiological reaction. Your heart beats significantly faster, among other things. Now, an emotional component is added. You call it fear. You find yourself in a stuck state. Reason is completely switched off. Only after a while does the cognitive system kick in and look for solutions. The question arises whether the cognitive system even kicked in for Trump's voters and, if so, how thoughtful and differentiated it was. In a system dominated by fear and security, simple messages have an easy game, especially when the cognitive component is severely restricted. The analysis of the election shows that the majority of Trump's voters have little education (cognitive component). Furthermore, the fear-security system is evolutionarily very much geared towards dominance in men. The election results reflect this as well. Many white men gave Trump their vote. In 1967, the American psychologist Martin E.P. Seligman introduced the concept of "learned helplessness" in psychology. Learned helplessness describes not being able to control certain situations and thus having no influence. In his studies, Seligman placed dogs in a cage under electricity and gave them no way to react to this stimulus. After a short time, these dogs showed lethargy – one could also say "frustration". They learned that they are essentially at the mercy of the system. Looking at the voter groups who gave their vote to Donald Trump yesterday, these are exactly the people in society who lack the feeling of self-efficacy. Socially descended, they have felt "electric shocks" in recent years. Donald Trump targeted exactly this in his campaign. Loudly and with simple clarity, he mobilized his voters with the fear-security system. Many Americans feel like they have a gun to their head. Donald Trump reinforced this feeling. He largely stayed on this emotional component. The important cognitive component, a deep engagement with real solutions, was completely left out. It remains to be hoped that the search for solutions will return to politics. The political system in Europe is challenged. Because more and more politicians are also relying on the fear-security system. The power of this emotion system in a grown social class was evident last night. In this respect, we are stuck in our brain development in evolution. Development requires education. For more information on Cristián Gálvez, click here: https://www.speakers-excellence.de/redner/cristian-galvez-storytelling.html