It is obvious that liberals and conservatives differ in their political beliefs and opinions, they also differ on important psychological characteristics. Conservatives demonstrate stronger behavioral responses to situations of threat and conflict, while liberals tend to seek novelty and uncertainty. Additionally, liberals accept risk more than conservatives. Similarly, conservatives have more intense physical reactions to threatening stimuli, unlike liberals who have stronger physiological responses to cognitive conflict situations. Researchers have assumed for centuries that people vote based on how their household votes or because of the many civics classes they are required to take in school. But this view eventually began to change and develop as the disciplines of psychology and science developed. Studies expand on political orientation and beliefs by considering genes as a primary influence on political engagement, as opposed to just environment. The results show that genetic variation plays an important role in explaining variation in political behavior (Edsall, 2013). For example, a twin study showed that a significant portion of the variability in political ideology reflects genetic influences, which then interact with the social environment. Although it is generally assumed that political attitudes have solely environmental causes, recent studies have begun to identify biological influences on an individual's political orientation. Kanai, Feidlen, Firth, and Rees (2011) captured political attitudes using a single-term measure where participants used a five-point scale to rate themselves from very liberal to very conservative. Although this may seem like a simple measure, it is a...... middle of paper ...... ygdala and the ACC with political attitudes (Kanai et al, 2011). For example, an individual with a large anterior cingulate cortex has a greater ability to tolerate uncertainty and conflict and would therefore most likely accept more liberal views. However, each region of the brain usually participates in multiple psychological processes. Therefore, the results only offer possible explanations for the cognitive styles of liberals and conservatives, but future research needs to be conducted before conclusions can be drawn. Overall, previous studies have shown that political liberalism and conservatism are correlated with brain structure. Liberalism is associated with gray matter volume of the anterior cingulate cortex and conservatism is associated with an increase in the size of the right amygdala. Additionally, the results offer possible explanations for the cognitive styles of liberals and conservatives..