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Who knew gun control could make you jumpy?

How do you feel about immigration, capital punishment, foreign aid and gun control? Your answers could be influenced not just by your political party, but also how by how easily you startle when exposed to sudden noises and threatening visual images. Just ask Rice political scientist John Alford, co-author of the paper “Political Attitudes Are Predicted by Physiological Traits,” which appeared in the Sept. 19 edition of Science magazine. Alford and his colleagues exposed a group of 46 adults with strong political beliefs to sudden noises and unanticipated threatening images — such as photos of an open wound infested with maggots and of a dazed individual with a bloody face. Researchers then measured each individual’s physiological response through observation of sweat and blinking. The results? Participants whose political leanings suggested more concern for protecting the social unit — through support for positions such as military spending and the Patriot Act and opposition to ideas such as premarital sex and pornography — were more likely to have a heightened “fight or flight” response to threatening stimuli than those less concerned with social protection. No question about it — that’s a startling discovery.