Mutual Interests

Abstract

Can neuroscientific techniques shed light on important questions in political science? The author argues for increased dialogue across disciplines as wide ranging as evolutionary psychology and biology, biological anthropology, behavioral economics, behavior genetics, behavioral ecology, and cognitive neuroscience. These fields find a clear theoretical convergence around evolutionary development models. These paradigms can be applied successfully to political decision making. In turn, political scientists can offer significant contributions to this research agenda by posing critical questions concerning human social and political behavior, including bias against out-groups, the formation and maintenance of coalitions, and the origin of preferences in decision making.