Startle Response Linked to Politics More Sensitive May Mean More Conservative, Study Finds By Shankar Vedantam Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, September 19, 2008; A09 People who startle easily in response to threatening images or loud sounds seem to have a biological predisposition to adopt conservative political positions on many hot-button issues, according to unusual new research published yesterday. The finding suggests that people who are particularly sensitive to signals of visual or auditory threats also tend to adopt a more defensive stance on political issues, such as immigration, gun control, defense spending and patriotism. People who are less sensitive...