From Embodiment to Public Policy: The Intersection of Individual Physiology, Psychology, and Institutional Policy Behaviors

Abstract

Purpose – Starting from the premise that human behavior is the result of a complex interaction between physiological processes, psychological values systems, and socio-institutional contexts, this chapter examines how political behavior can be better understood through a multilevel approach.

Design/methodology/approach – Employing social functionalism and Jonathan Haidt's Moral Foundations Theory, the conceptual model presented is predicated on the premise that human phenotypes are the product of evolutionary processes which have resulted in an intensely social animal. This chapter examines how physiological processes operating at the individual level, as demonstrated by recent neuroscience scholarship, are intricately involved in attitude formation as well as the presence of and variation in moral values. These individual-level traits are both responsible for socio-institutional processes as well as shaped by this larger social context.

Findings – The chapter cites that there are specific neural substrates that correlate with moral values responsible for the formation of preferences for particular policies.

Originality/value – In order to better understand political behavior and policy formation, it is incumbent upon political scientists to include individual-level analyses in theoretical models.

Citation

Cantele, M.P., Hannagan, R.J. and Oxley, D.R. (2012), "From Embodiment to Public Policy: The Intersection of Individual Physiology, Psychology, and Institutional Policy Behaviors", Somit, A. and Peterson, S.A. (Ed.) Biopolicy: The Life Sciences and Public Policy (Research in Biopolitics, Vol. 10), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 157-177. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2042-9940(2012)0000010008