Brain function different between liberals, conservatives

[mr friendly guy]

so neocons now have an excuse for their stupidity (ok, just kidding)

Brain function different between liberals, conservatives: study

The brain neurons of liberals and conservatives fire differently when confronted with tough choices, suggesting that some political divides may be hard-wired, a study says.

Aristotle may have been more on the mark than he realised when he said that man is by nature a political animal.

Dozens of previous studies have established a strong link between political persuasion and certain personality traits.

Conservatives tend to crave order and structure in their lives, and are more consistent in the way they make decisions.

Liberals, by contrast, show a higher tolerance for ambiguity and complexity, and adapt more easily to unexpected circumstances.

The affinity between political views and "cognitive style" has also been shown to be heritable, handed down from parents to children, the study published in the British journal Nature Neuroscience says.

Intrigued by these correlations, New York University political scientist Assistant Professor David Amodio and colleagues decided to find out if the brains of liberals and conservatives reacted differently to the same stimuli.

A group of 43 right-handed subjects were asked to perform a series of computer tests designed to evaluate their unrehearsed response to cues urging them to break a well-established routine.

"People often drive home from work on the same route, day after day, such that it becomes habitual and doesn't involve much thinking," Professor Amodio said.

"But occasionally there is roadwork, or perhaps an animal crosses the road, and you need to break out of your habitual response in order to deal with this new information."


Conflict monitoring

Using electroencephalographs, which measure neuronal impulses, the researchers examined activity in a part of the brain - the anterior cingulate cortex - that is strongly linked with the self-regulatory process of conflict monitoring.

The match-up was unmistakable: respondents who had described themselves as liberals showed "significantly greater conflict-related neural activity" when the hypothetical situation called for an unscheduled break in routine.

However, conservatives were less flexible, refusing to deviate from old habits "despite signals that this ... should be changed".

Whether that is good or bad, of course, depends on one's perspective: one could interpret the results to mean that liberals are nimble-minded and conservatives rigid and stubborn.

Or one could, with equal justice, conclude that wishy-washy liberals don't stick to their guns, while conservatives and steadfast and loyal.

As to the more intriguing question of which comes first, the patterns in neuron activity or the political orientation, Professor Amodio is reluctant to hazard a guess.

"The neural mechanisms for conflict monitoring are formed early in childhood," and are probably rooted in part in our genetic heritage, he said.

"But even if genes may provide a blueprint for more liberal or conservative orientations, they are shaped substantially by one's environment over the course of development."

- AFP

[Eleas]

Whether that is good or bad, of course, depends on one's perspective: one could interpret the results to mean that liberals are nimble-minded and conservatives rigid and stubborn.

Or one could, with equal justice, conclude that wishy-washy liberals don't stick to their guns, while conservatives and steadfast and loyal.

That's funny. I can easily see someone like Rumsfeld refusing to stop for an animal crossing the road out of sheer steadfast loyalty to the Department of Transportation.

[wautd]

Conservatives have a funtioning brain? Who'd have tought

[Junghalli]

Hmm, I definitely like order and regularity and hate unpredictability, and though I am pretty liberal now I used to be a conservative during my teenage years.

Interesting.

[Superman]

One might say the only constant in life is change, so inflexibility isn't exactly an asset.

[Darth Wong]

It's not exactly a surprise that people who don't handle change very well have a tendency to be conservative. Conservatism is all about avoiding change.

[drachefly]

Conservatives have a funtioning brain? Who'd have tought :o

Doesn't this study call that into question, in a sense?

[Darth Servo]

Mom showed this article to my idiot libertarian brother and he IMMEDIATELY went into another rant about how liberals are destroying society with heavy taxes and government spending, etc, etc, etc.

[Superman]

Mom showed this article to my idiot libertarian brother and he IMMEDIATELY went into another rant about how liberals are destroying society with heavy taxes and government spending, etc, etc, etc.

He seriously sounds obsessed.

[Ritterin Sophia]

Mom showed this article to my idiot libertarian brother and he IMMEDIATELY went into another rant about how liberals are destroying society with heavy taxes and government spending, etc, etc, etc.

Why doesn't he just move to Libertopia... I mean China.

[Darth Servo]

Mom showed this article to my idiot libertarian brother and he IMMEDIATELY went into another rant about how liberals are destroying society with heavy taxes and government spending, etc, etc, etc.

He seriously sounds obsessed.

Obsessed doesn't even begin to cover it. Have you seen my other posts about him? Its full-blow delusions.

Is 38 and still lives with his parents.

Insists taxation is "stealing"

Refuses to even apply for a government job on "moral" grounds. Most right-wingers will insist government programs are economically unsound. He takes it one step further and declares it out-right evil. You so much as MENTION civil services and he starts screaming "Liar! Communist!"

Has asbergers and blames that for his crappy life, inability to get a job, lack of friends, etc. Never mind that his idea of job hunting (back when he actually did try it) was to fill out one application and call that good.

Most raving fundy morons insist homosexuality is immoral, he goes further claiming its caused by DEMONIC POSSESSION!!!

Thinks God made him be a failure and any day now, everything will turn around as God uses him to bring a new golden age to humanity. Is obsessed with a certain fantasy trillogy of books. He was in Montana 18 years ago and insists he met the book's author and family then, that they are going to show up on my parent's doorstep any day now and rescue him, is destined to marry the author's sister, that through this union, he'll write his own best selling trillogy and thus bring about the above mentioned golden age. Never mind that he never once even mentioned these people during the time between his stay in Montana and reading the book. Never mind that they were supposedly soooooo impressed by him that they never once made any effort to stay in touch with him yet supposedly wrote the books in tribute to him.

[Darth Servo]

Mom showed this article to my idiot libertarian brother and he IMMEDIATELY went into another rant about how liberals are destroying society with heavy taxes and government spending, etc, etc, etc.

Why doesn't he just move to Libertopia... I mean China.

Because that would require actual effort on his part.