Westen and his colleagues used fMRI to examine the activation of brain areas of committed Democrats and Republicans when confronted with statements by their favored candidates that were inconsistent with their party's positions. The researchers found that participants used motivated reasoning as a strategy to regulate emotion, maximizing positive affect and minimizing negative affect. The study also showed the brain experienced:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The study found activation in the amygdala in the first half of the study and also in the prefrontal cortex and cingulate cortex, indicating that participants were experiencing negative affect initially but then regulating their emotions through motivated reasoning. There were changes in the cingulate cortex, contrary to choice B. There is no evidence to suggest there was no increase in amygdala activation (choice A) or activation throughout the prefrontal region of the cortex (choice D).

Westen and His Colleagues Used FMRI to Examine the Activation