Be Afraid!

Jordan and Dylan - Halloween
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(CNN) ...Political strategists know the most successful candidates are masters at capitalizing on fears... and that can make a huge difference at the polls...

CNN recently gathered eight undecided voters to see how they would respond to attack ads and how the ads might affect their choices. They gathered at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where psychologist Drew Westen studies how brains react to candidates' messages.

"Those kinds of gut-level reactions tell us things like, 'I don't feel like this person is telling us the truth,'" Westen said. "Unless someone is a really good con man, those reactions are extremely helpful. The conscious brain processes only a tiny percent of information."

Westen and his business partner Joel Weinberger have created software, through their company ThinkScan, that looks into a voter's subconscious. The software does this by measuring people's reaction time to certain words after they watch attack ads...

The undecided voters in CNN's group watched the ads and were then asked to identify the color of words such as "weak," "inexperienced," and "terrorist." If they hesitated, even for one-thousandth of a second, before they clicked on the color that corresponded with the word, Weinberger said, it meant the word had an impact.

"If the word is on their mind, if the word was activated, it will slow them down," Weinberger said.

Westen predicted the undecided voters would say they didn't like the ads and the ads had no impact on them. He was right.

The group watched Hillary Clinton's 3 a.m. campaign ad, which was intended to make voters question Barack Obama's experience. Viewers said the ad was fear-mongering and that it did not make them think Clinton was a stronger leader than Obama. But the data, Westen said, showed their brains reacted differently.

Voters had the greatest hesitation with words like "weak" and "lightweight" during the color test. Westen said this meant the ad made them question Obama's readiness.

"The purpose, too, is to make him seem scary, dangerous, 'You need to be afraid of this guy as president,'" said Westen. "That message unconsciously got through..."

This happens because the ads trigger a response in the part of the brain called the amygdala, which experiences emotions such as fear. When it is aroused, it overrides logic, according to Westen.

What advice does Westen have for presidential hopefuls?

"They should make voters feel inspired by them and worried about their opponent at the same time," said Westen. "It works."

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Well, I don't know if this science is sound, but it sure sounds right.

"This happens because the ads trigger a response in the part of the brain called the amygdala, which experiences emotions such as fear. When it is aroused, it overrides logic, according to Westen."

That would explain a lot...