“The Psychophysiology of Political Ideology: Replications, Reanalyses, and Recommendations”, 2021-11-25 (; similar):
This article presents a large-scale, empirical evaluation of the psychophysiological correlates of political ideology and, in particular, the claim that conservatives react with higher levels of electrodermal activity to threatening stimuli than liberals.
We (1) conduct 2 large replications of this claim, using locally representative samples of Danes and Americans; (2) reanalyze all published studies and evaluate their reliability and validity; and (3) test several features to enhance the validity of psychophysiological measures and offer a number of recommendations.
Overall, we find little empirical support for the claim. This is caused by large reliability and validity problems related to measuring threat sensitivity using electrodermal activity. When assessed reliably, electrodermal activity in the replications and published studies captures individual differences in the physiological changes associated with attention shifts, which are unrelated to ideology. In contrast to psychophysiological reactions, self-reported emotional reactions to threatening stimuli are reliably associated with ideology.
[Keywords: political ideology, threat sensitivity, electrodermal activity, replication, measurement, psychometrics]
…In the process of revising this article, a preprint of another large-scale replication effort became available. et al 2019 field 2 conceptual replications, as well a preregistered direct replication of et al 2008. All of these efforts fail to replicate the results. We encourage readers to consult et al 2019, which is aligned with and reinforces the conclusions of the present article.