Before the Brexit vote, economists were near-unified in voicing fears that the UK will suffer outside the EU. The list of consequences is long: The UK’s economy will lose out on a favorable trade union, businesses may relocate their European headquarters, and the whole episode could very well spark a recession for the country.
People who were counting on reason to win outwere left depressed and confused after the votes were tallied. What they missed was, fundamentally, an understanding of the psychology of voting. Given how unlikely it is that any one person’s vote will be the decisive one, voting decisions can be driven more by emotion than by rationality. And Brexit had a very powerful emotion on its side — fear of outsider and loss of identity.
People who think facts and figures should have swayed the Brexit vote aren’t considering the psychology of fear.
The Brexit vote is proof that when emotions battle reason in a voting booth, emotions can win. This fact stuns some pundits but it’s less surprising for neuroscientists like Mina Cikara.
[For more of this story, written by Brian Resnick, go to http://www.vox.com/2016/6/25/1...exit-psychology-fear]
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