[extropy-chat] A case of self-deception?

[Rafal Smigrodzki]

A fascinating post on EconLog:

http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2005/03/what_fools_thes.html

Apparently after 9/11, trust in government rose. I wonder what is the
neurological substrate of this behavior. Perhaps this is a form of
self-deception: under external attack, tribe members unite to defend
themselves, and temporarily suppress backstabbing and internal power struggles.
They must convince themselves that this is a good idea - hence the suppression
of disbelief in the goodness of their leaders, even if on rational analysis the
leaders (past and present) appear to be a part of the cause of the attack.

I wonder how this evolutionary psychology hypothesis could be tested.

Rafal