WEBVTT

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we looked at some very interesting

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research that showed ways in which

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scientists could actually manipulate

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people's political beliefs and make them

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either more conservative or more liberal

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scientists yeah how ways that you would

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be very surprised let me talk about ways

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in which they were able to make liberal

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people more conservative they took a

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bunch of students and they have them

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fill out these questionnaires looking at

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their political ideology and they could

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give them a score how liberal how

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conservative they were they invited up

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into two groups one group had it fill it

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out and there was a hand sanitizer

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nearby the presence of the hand

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sanitizer made the more conservative the

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presence of the hand sanitizer made them

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all conservative that's right the other

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group there's no hand sanitizer on

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average this group filled out their

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questionnaire in a more conservative way

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than the other group did why is that the

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reason is the hand sanitizer is a sign

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of threat it reminds you that you are at

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risk of becoming infected

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it's a tiny subtle intervention but it

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reflects a much larger intervention that

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we all understand attack make the

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country more conservative if there's an

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election coming up and there's a attack

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around the time of the election the

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polls shift in favor of the

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Conservatives because when you feel

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under threat you say I need to protect

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what I have it's when you feel safe you

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say let's take some risks let's make the

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world a better place

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that's dopamine now it's funny is

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election seasons in November who did

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this study I can't remember

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crazy to me now we can do it in the

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other direction too so different group

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of scientists very similar kind of

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questionnaire and they told people

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imagine that you have superpowers and

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nothing can hurt you I just want you to

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spend five seconds just imagining you

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have superpowers and nothing can hurt

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you

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shifts people are more liberal because

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it's the opposite you take the threat

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away a lot of conservatives have fears

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how are immigrants going to change

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country how are people who are different

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from me going to threaten my way of life

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if you can lower those fears they will

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become in subtle ways not formatic but

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in subtle ways more liberal