Liberals are adaptive thinkers; Conservatives are rigid thinkers. Have you seen the proof?

Question

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070909/hl_afp/scienceneuroscience
The brain neurons of liberals and conservatives fire differently when confronted with tough choices, suggesting that some political divides may be hard-wired, according a study released Sunday.
.....
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 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.

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

Answer 1

Yes, I saw that.

You can tell from most of the dittoheads responding that they aren't very bright - they haven't read or comprehended the article. The just respond without thinking - stimulus-response, like a paramecium.

The researchers conclude that "liberals" and "conservatives" actually have different thought processes that can be observed in the brain. They don't say that one is better than the other, just different.

Most conservatives I've met are not too bright - they just repeat what they're told without thinking about it, but I've also met some that were very intelligent.

I've seen some hysterical liberals, but I've seen some very hysterical conservatives too.

Conservatives didn't want to end slavery in the U.S. because it would upend society - THEIR society, and THEIR privileges. Liberals fought to end slavery because they could envision a different future, and a different way of doing things. Conservatives couldn't see the possibilities.

Liberals wanted to help the poor by creating a social welfare system. Conservatives were afraid that a welfare system would undermine families and create more hardship and dependency on the federal government. Liberals envisioned a better future, but failed to anticipate some of the unintended consequences of those programs.

It's important to use your brain and think through situations. Sometimes the conservative option is the best - sometimes the liberal option is better. It depends on the situation. The fact is, most people are lazy and stupid, and want easy answers - so it's easier to just repeat what someone says instead of thinking for yourself, whether it's the Pope, George Bush, Ann Coulter, or Karl Marx.

The fundamental difference is conservatives have one option - keep doing things the way we have been. Liberals have more options, because there are different ways to try new things. So the liberals find it difficult to band together, running around in separate action groups, while conservatives just circle the wagons and stick their heads in the sand.

Another thing - the current U.S. administration is ANYTHING BUT conservative - it's an extremely radical opportunistic oligarchy serving the interests of a few very wealthy people, that presents itself as (hypocritical) Christian Fundamentalism, while it has trashed the Constitution, sought to increase the powers of the federal government, diminish the rights of the citizens, and funnelled huge amounts of cash from the treasury into private hands.

Answer 2

but which is the cause and which is the effect? I mean... are conservatives rigid thinkers to begin with or are they conservative which makes them rigid thinkers? Liberals are adaptive thinkers... is that because they're more liberal so they adapt their thinking to the new situation or is it that the adaptive quality of their brain is what makes them liberals?
of course we won't know the answer unless they do a case study on a baby to see its brain functions now and follow that child until it reaches adulthood and develops political ideas, and measure its brain function growth along the way.

Answer 3

I read this too and see the parallels. but does it count for total brain activity. I would say that a Liberal is more likely to think of multiple different avenues..or even several different avenues at once. This has little to do with day to day intelligence, but a Liberal is more likely to be the explorer. i am Liberal and have been faithful to my profession, but found it necessary for the last 30 years to live in different places. i can't stay put for more than 6 years. but I also have adapted to more new situations than anyone I've been associated with. i actually contemplated working in Antarctica

Answer 4

It makes sense to me. For two groups of people to think on such opposite sides of the fence--it is not surprising that it could be something in the brain/mind.

What doesn't make sense is that there are so many hypocrites on each side of that fence.

Answer 5

i see it everyday,rigid thinking unable to adapt to new input as shown above and below , one idea in the mind at a time please it might explode,this helps explain why when bush when ask about his thoughts on evolution said "the jury is still out on that"...... wait this just in from Liberty University [founded by that internationally known deep thinker the late Rev.Jerry Falwell] from the dean of the political science dept. Dr.I.M.Kookie"we have reviewed the data from the study conducted at Loyola and concluded that it is just plain wrong no two ways about it! we have also concluded that the earth is 6000 years old, and man and dinosaurs lived together as in the Flintstones,that there were WMD's liberals are fags and if you don't like it you can eat sh*t and die".....well folks there it is a stunningly brilliant argument from the creative Conservative minds they win again by a land slide

Answer 6

True

Survival of the fittest is a major part of adaptivity to changes.

Answer 7

What would they make of a liberal turned conservative? Does that mean that thanks to my previous higher tolerance and higher ability to adapt I finally adapted to reality by becoming a con?

Answer 8

Liberals have embraced Islam; whereas conservatives have rejected al Qaeda, and will die in our caravan of martyrs.

Answer 9

No, I've only seen the George Soros propaganda and the effect on what used to be our fellow Americans. Does he have the concentration camps ready with scientists on hand to experiment on us?

Answer 10

Of course. Regardless of when and where, liberal political movements want forward change and conservatives want no change or backward movement. All one has to do is look at the root words. It's no surprise.