Ian Chipman

If you’ve ever terminated a relationship—a romance, a friendship, a business partnership—to avoid being dumped or hung out to dry, you’re not alone. Many relationships unravel precisely because individuals worry about being left behind and preemptively decide to call it quits. As it turns out, our desire for security can prompt us to preemptively strike against an uncertain threat, even if in doing so we also hurt ourselves.

Every day, millions of viewers tune in to Fox News and MSNBC—24-hour cable news stations that have staked out positions on opposing ends of the ideological spectrum. But how much do political biases in these channels affect viewer ideology and—in turn—voting? A new study sheds light on this question, suggesting that slanted news channels have a measurable effect on election outcomes.

It’s a typical afternoon, which means that you’re on Facebook instead of doing whatever it is you’re supposed to be doing. You notice an ad from a company you follow—say, Chevrolet—offering you a chance to win a car if you sign up for a newsletter. Meanwhile, in a parallel universe—where, yes, you’re also on Facebook—the same promotion from Chevrolet pops up offering a chance to win not only a car, but also a handful of smaller prizes, including iPads, gift certificates, T-shirts, and hats. Since all else is equal, it makes sense that the second promotion would be the more enticing one: There are more prizes to win, so objectively it should be a more valuable prospect for you.