...when confronted with a new situation, a new study says:
http://arstechnica.com/journals/science.ars/2007/09/11/political-ideology-and-brain-function

Quote :

"The study in question, from psychologists at NYU and UCLA, looks at how political self-identification relates to how the brain handles conflict. Volunteers rated their political affiliation on a scale from -5 to +5, and then had their brain activity measured as they performed a Go/No-Go test. ... The researchers measured brain activity corresponding to an incorrect response, and discovered that political liberals showed significantly greater brain activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, and that liberalism, as compared to conservatism, was associated with greater sensitivity to cognitive conflict."

9/11/2007 4:23:53 PM

there's a reason why the intellectual class tends to be more left

9/11/2007 4:25:37 PM

liberal thoughts: ok, breath, breath, breath, breath, blink, breath

no wonder

9/11/2007 4:36:51 PM

^^ Thats exactly what the vast academic conspiracy wants you to think.

[Edited on September 11, 2007 at 4:37 PM. Reason : ^]

9/11/2007 4:37:05 PM

The irony here is that conservatives' lack of thought when confronted with new ideas will allow them to easily reject the notion that they think less when confronted with new ideas.

9/11/2007 5:01:33 PM

^ haha, true...

9/11/2007 5:12:02 PM

Come one guys, this study is obviously biased. NYU and UCLA??? Those are the modern day Sodom and Gomorrah. Who can trust these self-serving "studies" that are created with the sole intent to slander conservatives and promote the liberal agenda?

9/11/2007 5:32:11 PM

Quote :

"liberal thoughts: ok, breath, breath, breath, breath, blink, breath"

You mean conservative.

As for the study, the level of brain activity is actually the cause, and the political affiliation the effect... not the other way around!


[Edited on September 11, 2007 at 5:58 PM. Reason : ]

9/11/2007 5:58:29 PM

maybe it's kinda like how an Olympic decathlete could jog down to the corner without even breathing hard, but the fat slob behind the counter at the donut shop would be wheezing and gasping for air.

9/11/2007 6:09:53 PM

also from the article...

Quote :

"Of course, the results should not be taken as pejorative; they don't claim to show that conservatives have lesser brains or neurocognitive function, despite how such conclusions might be spun. It does show that the way our brains are hardwired affects the decisions we make, even in the voting booth."

9/11/2007 6:31:23 PM

ya we are all just brain dead hicks, we dont think

9/11/2007 6:36:55 PM

what about libertarians?

9/11/2007 6:40:07 PM

theDuke FTW

9/11/2007 6:45:02 PM

AHA, I was wondering when this would be posted.

It doesn't seem like some breakthrough thing to me. Let me see if I got it right:

Liberals, by definition, are more open-minded and think more, as a result. Conservatives are more closed-minded and good at blocking out distracting information to get to their conclusions. ?

Of course, none of this can easily be applied to the individual.

9/11/2007 6:59:05 PM

or liberals like bridget are TOO openminded...going to great lengths to defend a criminal simply because they are of a particular race that has been oppressed in the past, for example, ignoring their crimes in favor of imagining a perfect society with streets paved with cotton candy and where everybody rides a unicorn to work

9/11/2007 7:07:05 PM

Quote :

"Political scientists and psychologists have noted that, on average, conservatives show more structured and persistent cognitive styles, whereas liberals are more responsive to informational complexity, ambiguity and novelty. We tested the hypothesis that these profiles relate to differences in general neurocognitive functioning using event-related potentials, and found that greater liberalism was associated with stronger conflict-related anterior cingulate activity, suggesting greater neurocognitive sensitivity to cues for altering a habitual response pattern."

"Of course, libertarians enjoy both the informational complexity and novelty of markets and a social world rife with differing lifestyles. "
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/122390.html

9/11/2007 7:17:20 PM

Yet another self-affirming thread for liberals to convince themselves that they are superior. And then they wonder why people get sick of their elitist attitudes.

Of course this one will probably turn out to be bogus, like the bullshit graph trying to say that states voting for Gore had higher IQ's across the board than states voting for Bush.

9/11/2007 7:17:38 PM

bahahaha

Quote :

"My recent study found that both liberals and conservatives spend entirely too much time finding ways to spend MY money and fuck with MY life. "

9/11/2007 8:03:52 PM

^^I didn't take this to be particularly negative about conservatives though. People think differently, not better or worse.

9/11/2007 8:13:07 PM

choosing a side is pointless because it's like deciding who's bitch you want to be in prison. Your opinion will hardly effect anything, and either way you're getting boned.

9/11/2007 8:25:58 PM

^I don't think "liberal" or "conservative" are really sides. It's not like Republicans and Democrats.

9/11/2007 8:31:58 PM

oh, come on, Bridget, you didn't take it negatively towards conservatives? Then what's w/ the "liberals are open-minded and conservatives are close-minded..." statement? come on...

I could spin this another way:
[spin]
The article there doesn't say whether or not liberals were more likely to get the answer "right" or not. So, the conservatives were able to come to "right answer" without using brain activity. In other words, doing the right thing just comes naturally to conservatives. Meanwhile, liberals have to spin their wheels for a little bit to come up with what is right in front of their fucking face.
[/spin]

Let's also note that the study doesn't say that there was no other brain activity for conservatives. It just said that the brain activity in that one region was more pronounced for self-professed "liberals." In short, what a worthless fucking article.

9/11/2007 9:05:57 PM

What do you think the words "liberal" and "conservative" mean? Of course, conservatives are more closed-minded! And that's okay...it's been okay since the beginning of humanity.

And you can spin the article however you want. All I got from it was, surprise surprise, conservatives and liberals think differently.

9/11/2007 9:15:20 PM

Being conservative doesn't mean one is more closed-minded, Bridget. I will freely say I am an open-minded conservative. I'm considered conservative because the decisions I arrive at fall in line with conservative policy/action - i.e., keeping the status quo or return to previous thinking.

9/11/2007 9:22:38 PM

liberal may mean open-minded but you make it sound like conservatives dont think about something before they decide that drastic change isnt always the best course of action...i would say some liberals actually rely on emotion more than reason to make a lot of choices and openmindedness is great as long as you dont jump to some conclusion too hastily

9/11/2007 9:25:04 PM

^^

Quote :

"BridgetSPK: Of course, none of this can easily be applied to the individual."

You're an individual. Don't expect everything suggested about conservatives to be applicable to you.

^Of course, they think about things before making decisions. I don't think conservatives are retarded or some shit.

9/11/2007 10:03:44 PM

this is not news. the smarter the person, the more progressive.

however, liberals tend to wallow in analysis paralysis, while conservatives tend to come to quicker conclusions about things that need to get done.

it would pain me to see a world plagued by chronic paralysis (note, i consider myself liberal)

9/11/2007 10:26:36 PM

Quote :

"the smarter the person, the more progressive"

thats far from any kind of rule of thumb...not everything needs to be changed

9/11/2007 10:36:14 PM

what about underwear?

9/11/2007 10:53:20 PM

Quote :

"the smarter the person, the more progressive"

Yes, because spouting catch phrases and thinking what is expected of you takes smarts. Or could it possibly be that political ideology is merely choice, dictated more by who you know than how smart you are.

[Edited on September 11, 2007 at 11:17 PM. Reason : sp]

9/11/2007 11:17:20 PM

Quote :

"The article there doesn't say whether or not liberals were more likely to get the answer "right" or not."

this wasn't the best paper (as are a lot of neuroscience papers now--if you have access to an fMRI machine you can get almost anything published), but they did find a positive correlation between liberalism and getting the correct answer (correlation coefficient of 0.30, which was significant in this case). as to what that means, i don't think anyone can really say.

[Edited on September 11, 2007 at 11:45 PM. Reason : .]

9/11/2007 11:44:21 PM

I don't know what to think about this.

9/11/2007 11:52:00 PM

Homosexuals tend to have lower GPA's. Does that mean they are conservatives?

9/12/2007 12:36:21 AM

just wanted to show love to BridgetSPK for not takin a side on this one but rather looking at this whole deal sensibly.
this hardly applies to all, and i highly doubt most, conservatives, as i see it.

also i'd like to point out one thing, because i see it a lot, on here and everywhere else. conservatives in general are pin-pointed as closed-minded, ignorant people. i think that's because they don't pick up new social opinions, but rather some of us really do have our own principles that simply just don't agree with others. i myself have my own values, and i don't change them just because somebody else disagrees with me. i'll listen, but that certainly doesn't mean i have to accept or change anything if i don't want to. that's me as an individual, and i'm certain there are a lot of people like me, some conservative, some liberal. it doesn't make me closed-minded, it makes me self-minded. i'll choose for myself what i'm going to believe, not someone else.

for the record... there definitely are closed-minded, ignorant, backward individuals on both sides of the ball... most of the time i just try not to be one of them

[Edited on September 12, 2007 at 12:45 AM. Reason : ]

9/12/2007 12:43:09 AM

^^may be an example of the worst logic in the history of TSB.

9/12/2007 12:44:37 AM

^ maybe the worst detector of sarcasm in TSB history

9/12/2007 12:46:26 AM

no, no. dont worry. i processed the "sarcasm"

and it was also terrible

9/12/2007 12:47:01 AM

no, no. dont worry. i processed the "logic"

and it was also terrible

9/12/2007 12:48:26 AM

uh, okay?

9/12/2007 12:52:14 AM

just pulling your leg dude ... boring night

9/12/2007 12:56:03 AM

I don't know, given the current state of our bloated power hungry over-regulating nanny state federal government I think true conservatives are actually the progressives. We want to radically change the status quo. Compared to say HRC or Obama or Edwards all token "progressives" who essentially want to add a few more tentacles to the federal government.

Seems pretty open minded to suggest actually changing the basic structure of the tax code, or giving power back to the states,... sure these are "conservative" principles but when you think about it they are actually radical progressive changes.

Anyway, semantics aside, there are intelligent conservatives and intelligent liberals. Garbage in garbage out. The trouble is with the basic assumption of modern liberalism, namely the inherent goodness of mankind. This is wrong, man is evil. No matter how smart you are if you accept the intrinsic goodness of man implicitly you are doomed to make conclusions which although well intentioned are manifestly ignorant of what is pragmatically permissible for sustainable governments.

night all.

9/12/2007 2:05:50 AM

Power to the states is just rhetoric. The Republicans were in power for how long? Can you name one thing they did that devolved power to the states? Welfare reform was the last big thing done, and that was Clinton.

So, since I recognize that federalism is probably a tenet of conservatism, that would mean Republicans are not conservative.

9/12/2007 9:08:14 AM

Hey hold on there a minute, I never said most Republicans were conservatives. Socially, sure sometimes. Fiscally, not that I can remember modulo tax cuts. There exist conservative republicans, but its hard to find the idealists in the midst of the politicians.

Anyway, returning power to the states will happen through the Supreme Court if through anything.

How is federalism a conservative ideal? True conservatives I've always thought desire a return to treating the constitution with respect. Meaning that the alphabet soup that is the federal government should be trimmed back to those powers which are actually specifically enumerated by the constitution. This would drastically reduce the size of the centralized government in Washington and as such is if anything "antifederalist".

I guess I must miss your point since you rarely talk out of your nether regions.

9/12/2007 4:21:18 PM

^ no, you didn't miss anything. You gave several very succinct and applicable explanations.

9/12/2007 6:58:54 PM

Quote :

"...federalism is probably a tenet of conservatism..."

is this missing a "not" should this read,

Quote :

"...federalism is probably not a tenet of conservatism..."

?

[Edited on September 12, 2007 at 11:04 PM. Reason : / not \ .]

9/12/2007 11:04:03 PM

Oh, sorry. I agree with you, federalism is a part of conservative thought and therefore rhetoric. My argument was that the political incarnation of conservatism, as incarnated in the Republican and Democratic Parties, is demonstrably not in keeping with conservative ideals. The argument did not need making, however, since no one was arguing otherwise.

9/12/2007 11:42:05 PM

Quote :

"this is not news. the smarter the person, the more progressive. however, liberals tend to wallow in analysis paralysis, while conservatives tend to come to quicker conclusions about things that need to get done. it would pain me to see a world plagued by chronic paralysis (note, i consider myself liberal)"

Broadly speaking, yeah that's accurate.

I've got no psychology degrees or behavioral studies to back this up, but logically speaking I think the difference between conservatives comes down to this:

1) Conservatives - They think in straight lines. The simplest explanation is usually the right one. If you work hard, plan accordingly, and apply yourself, you succeed. The system is good and fair, so you just have to be willing to put in the effort. Those that succeed deserve it due their hard work. Those that are not successful need to try harder. If you see a problem, fix it. They tend to me more pragmatic, motivated, and industrious. They also tend to be more judgmental. Right and wrong are more clearly defined. "You robbed a bank? You go to jail. No sympathy here, you knew what the law says about that."

As a result, successful people tend to be conservative. They believe the system has rewarded them for being good and hard-working, and thus this system should be left as is. In addition, people whom prefer to think in straight lines, whether through personal preference or through limitations in intelligence, typically prefer conservatism. Liberals, from the conservatives' perspective, are too idealistic and often underemphasize personal responsibility. They believe liberals act as apologists for groups looking for government handouts. Success is a choice, not a right.

2) Liberals - They're better at seeing "the other side" of an issue. To them, the world is not black and white. While conservatives accept the system as is, liberals consider whether the system truly is good and fair. They believe that sometimes the playing field is not even, and it should be corrected. Liberals stress true equality, which means sticking up the minority in every struggle. Feminists, gay rights groups, handicapped groups, ethnic minorities, and religious minorities often find support among liberals. Liberals look at a robbery and ask "Has this guy broken the law b/c he's bad? Or did he do it to feed his starving family? Did he grow up in an abusive household? Has he lacked a father figure to teach him right from wrong?"

Liberals tend to believe in the inherent goodness and work ethic of all people. They're more likely to attribute individual and group struggles to limiting conditions. They trust the government to promote equality by doing things like providing everyone with education, access to healthcare, welfare for the poor, and a bias-free environment on the basis of sex, religion, race, etc. Liberals see conservatism as cold and uncaring. Conservatives are too quick to judge because they blindly trust the system, which they have used (if not exploited) to their advantage. Individual success should always be a result of the personal effort, and it's not right that some gifted, hard-working people are crushed due to bias in the system.


If read all that, kudos...

9/17/2007 5:49:27 PM

you are still looking at politics as a 1-dimensional white & black situation.

you are either conservative or liberal while not taking into account libertarians and/or authoritarian. This is a major problem in American politics. Some of my Bush supporting friends would describe my political views as "Liberal" even though a lot of my ideas on issues are very non-liberal.

9/17/2007 6:50:47 PM

Quote :

"you are still looking at politics as a 1-dimensional white & black situation. "

That's justified due to the focus of the thread

Quote :

"The researchers measured brain activity corresponding to an incorrect response, and discovered that political liberals showed significantly greater brain activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, and that liberalism, as compared to conservatism, was associated with greater sensitivity to cognitive conflict.""

I'm attempting to explain this phenomena, not divide everyone's political philosophy into conservativism and liberalism. There's much more to political philosophy than just that.

9/17/2007 11:24:08 PM

Liberal Interpretation
Rigging a study to make conservatives look stupid.
By William Saletan

Quote :

"The conservative case against this study is easy to make. Sure, we're fonder of old ways than you are. That's in our definition. Some of our people are obtuse; so are some of yours. If you studied the rest of us in real life, you'd find that while we second-guess the status quo less than you do, we second-guess putative reforms more than you do, so in terms of complexity, ambiguity, and critical thinking, it's probably a wash. Also, our standard of 'information' is a bit tougher than the blips and fads you fall for. Sometimes, these inclinations lead us astray. But over the long run, they've served us and society pretty well. It's just that you notice all the times we were wrong and ignore all the times we were right. In fact, that's exactly what you've done in this study: You've manufactured a tiny world of letters, half-seconds, and button-pushing, so you can catch us in clear errors and keep out the part of life where our tendencies correct yours. And now you feel great about yourselves. Congratulations. You haven't told us much about our way of thinking. But you've told us a lot about yours."

http://www.slate.com/id/2173965

And the only people that fell for it were liberals--searching for some form of validation, no doubt.

9/18/2007 1:24:58 AM