Conservatives Big on Fear, Brain Study Finds

[Father Heathen]

Did the study say anything about emotional, knee-jerk reactions?

 

[tytlyf]

Science should not be used to belittle another, and what I was really addressing was the part of the article saying it's no wonder our politicians are big babies who don't know how to get along. Which is where I call foul, because it is a false conclusion given the obvious, which is that PLENTY of people with different, and even radically different, brain shapes and structures still get along, still have strong communications, and can still compromise. I am also addressing the flaw in lumping all Conservatives together, which is just as flawed as lumping all Liberals or all Moderates together.
Or instead of looking at modern brain scans, it's already known that human beings tend to gravitate towards social order and hierarchy, which are traits that are more typical for Conservatives than Liberals. It could just as easily be said the Liberals are against the natural order, because even Chimpanzee and Bonobos are socially structured and have social hierarchy.
Lies, damn lies, and statistics.

Uhhh, not seeing any belittling in the article. Just facts. Not my problem you're blowing it completely out of proportion. You sound fearful when you shouldn't be.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

It's pretty much splitting hairs to say that one category of people are more fearful than another category of people. All of us humans are basically scared little creatures scurrying around, randomly bumping into things, and then pretending like we meant to bump into them all along.

 

[WyattDerp]

From an european perspective, here's my study: democrats in the US are that dumb, they need republicans of all people to feel better about themselves. And when that's pointed out, they assume the person who points that out to be a republican. One of the perks of the interwebs for sure.

 

[WyattDerp]

You sound fearful when you shouldn't be.

That strikes me as a very intelligent argument, just like the study predicted!

 

[tytlyf]

It's pretty much splitting hairs to say that one category of people are more fearful than another category of people. All of us humans are basically scared little creatures scurrying around, randomly bumping into things, and then pretending like we meant to bump into them all along.

To sum up the study in the OP.
Have people take an MRI brain scan and ask them if they are conservative or liberal prior to doing so.
Results show people that claim to be conservative have a larger 'fear' part of the brain than those who said liberal.
I could just take comments from this forum to prove that. No one is coming after your guns!

 

[Father Heathen]

A willingness to sacrifice liberty in exchange for a false sense of security seems rather fearful to me.

 

[Alceste]

Dude, they DEFINE conservatives as people who are "afraid of change".

So you see, right there..

No, they asked subjects to define themselves as liberal or conservative, then did the brain scans and found an enlarged amygdala in the self-professed conservatives.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I find that conservatives and liberals seem to be equally afraid of each other.

 

[Alceste]

A willingness to sacrifice liberty in exchange for a false sense of security seems rather fearful to me.

Hello, patriot act.

 

[tytlyf]

Dude, they DEFINE conservatives as people who are "afraid of change".

So you see, right there..

Here's the quote. Are you saying this isn't true?

Most societies are divided into a party that wants change (the more liberal party) and one that is afraid of change (the conservatives). The liberal party is generally more intellectual and the conservative party is more anti-intellectual.

con·serv·a·tive

[kuh

n-sur-vuh-tiv] Show IPA
adjective
1. disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.

2. cautiously moderate or purposefully low: a conservative estimate.

3. traditional in style or manner; avoiding novelty or showiness: conservative suit.

4. ( often initial capital letter ) of or pertaining to the Conservative party.

5. ( initial capital letter ) of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Conservative Jews or Conservative

Conservative | Define Conservative at Dictionary.com

 

[Father Heathen]

Hello, patriot act.

A good example. And why would you say "hello" to me when referencing that?

I lean left on the vast majority of issues, yet when I lean right on one specific issue, I'm regarded as a cookie cutter conservative? Me?

 

[Alceste]

A good example. And why would you say "hello" to me when referencing that?

I lean left on the vast majority of issues, yet when I lean right on one specific issue, I'm regarded as a cookie cutter conservative? Me?

No, I was just offering an illustrative example to support your point. Not challenging it. Sorry for being unclear!

 

[Straw Dog]

Caution or fear isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's what we do with it that matters. It takes all types to make society work. We need some people to be more open to change and universalism and others more focused on maintaining security and preserving the best of traditions. The skill is in learning how to work with the nature of others rather than seeking to impose a monoculture across the board.

 

[Dirty Penguin]

.....opcorn:.....

 

[WyattDerp]

Hello, patriot act.

Yes, and? Hello Obama, hello Hope & Change. Hello Patriot Act being extended every 3 years without *any* discussion.

But, granted, also hello big fat smiles and hollow, comfy phrases, and goodbye snarling Dick Cheney and constant talk of mushroom clouds ^^

 

[sandandfoam]

In the USA the 'liberals' are conservatives. It would be some brain scan that can distinguish conservative right wing nutter from barking mad conservative right wing nutter.

 

[Father Heathen]

In the USA the 'liberals' are conservatives. It would be some brain scan that can distinguish conservative right wing nutter from barking mad conservative right wing nutter.

Politicians, sure, but the average U.S. citizen who identifies liberal?

 

[sandandfoam]

Politicians, sure, but the average U.S. citizen who identifies liberal?

I don't believe that the average US citizen is any different from the citizen of anywhere else. But identifying as liberal in the US often is the same as identifying as democrat. Democrat in the USA = conservative most anywhere else.

 

[WyattDerp]

Democrat in the USA = conservative most anywhere else.

Actually, stuff like this qualifies as "Nazi" for me.

Anwar al-Awlaki - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Two weeks later, al-Awlaki's 16-year-old son, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen who was born in Denver, was killed by a CIA-led drone strike in Yemen.

You know, it's not like all Germans under the Nazis were rabid racists and antisemites. Many of them were "just" very obedient and ignorant (willfully or not). Boots trampled people while the people paying for those boots either looked away or licked them -- that's the essence of the Nazis to me, and I see the same today, just done more "cleanly", and with wild hair being an option. And the more I learn I realize it's been that way every day for longer than I live, and that people are amazingly skilled, like rats pressing levers to get food, at rationalizing it.

Democrats and Republicans are very tough when it comes to criticizing each other, not so much when it comes to acknowledging that both parties are basically sponsored by the same corporations and serve the same interests, and those are neither conservative (in as they're "preserving" anything) nor liberal (in that they want change - they want MORE OF THE SAME, they want *more* tightly concentrated power).

But I wouldn't claim we don't have that in Europe, too. It's "divide into arbitrary slices, then squabble about meaningless differences while unspokenly agreeing on stuff is kinda evil (or suicidal, depending on if you're an asset or an owner)" everywhere.