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bounty44 -> RE: Neuroscience explains why cons wet their panties in fear of 4-year-old Syrian girls (2/6/2017 5:44:12 PM)
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Let’s see what the peer-reviewed research has to say about the conservative brain.
When someone on a left wing website starts out like that, the suspicion is it’s a hit piece.
and when someone titles a thread the way you did, its likely youre not really looking for "discussion" either.
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1. Conservatives tend to focus on the negative
In a 2012 study published in the prestigious journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences, liberal and conservative participants were shown collages of both negative and positive images on a computer screen while their eye movements were recorded. While liberals were quicker to look at pleasant images, like a happy child or a cute bunny rabbit, conservatives tended to behave oppositely. They’d first inspect threatening and disturbing pictures—things like car wrecks, spiders on faces, and open wounds crawling with maggots—and would also tend to dwell on them for longer. This is what psychologists call a “negativity bias”. If you think about it, this makes a lot of sense. When attention is biased toward the negative, the result is an overly threat-conscious appraisal of one’s surroundings. Essentially, to many conservatives the world looks like a much scarier place. This would seem to explain why so many major conservative viewpoints tend to be rooted in irrational fears—like fear of the president, immigrants, Muslims, vaccinations, etc.
I’m right up there with him until he says “overly threat conscious” and then goes on to make the statement “the world looks like a much scarier place.” Those are not only conjecture; they are value judgments by the author that do not follow explicitly from the methodology he describes.
Further, how ironic the study he’s referencing and the article itself here was from when obama was president. Who’s “fearing the president now??” What’s more, his use of the word “irrational” is also a value judgment that he’s not justified in making. Lastly, it’s the liberals who label everything conservatives oppose as being because they are “afraid” of things. Rejecting illegal immigration is not being “afraid” of immigrants. Recognizing most terrorists are muslim is not being “afraid” of islam or muslims.
oh, and the "vaccinations" thing? there's relatively ideological parity on that.
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2. Conservatives are more anxious
A study found that conservatives have a stronger physiological response to startling noises and graphic images. This adds to a growing body of research that indicates a hypersensitivity to threat—a hallmark of anxiety. But why exactly would those that scare more easily tend to support conservative views? One social psychologist from the University of Central Arkansas, Paul Nail, has a pretty interesting answer: “Conservatism, apparently, helps to protect people against some of the natural difficulties of living. The fact is we don’t live in a completely safe world. Things can and do go wrong. But if I can impose this order on it by my worldview, I can keep my anxiety to a manageable level.” This could explain the two parties’ different stances on gun control. It only makes sense that those who startle more easily are also the ones that believe they need to own a gun.
A “stronger physiological response” does not equal “hypersensitivity” any more than conservatives being more muscular than liberals translates into “hyper-masculinity.” Neither does a “strong physiological response” translate into “anxiety” which is not a physiological state, but a psychological one. State and trait anxieties are not assessed physiologically so the author’s make an unacceptable stretch.
I’d really need to see the original article but unfortunately, the link to the whole article from the hyperlinked pubmed page is no longer working (so gee, in spite of your bluster, at least in this case, no you cant "see the original research") and I was not able to get the article in two other places I looked. My internet connections bad and perhaps ive given up too early---but either way, its interesting to note that the word “conservative” does not appear in the abstract which is where it should, nor are there any political terms in the key words used to describe the research. This makes me think the author of the rawstory piece is talking out his hind end.
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3. Conservatives fear new experiences
A 2008 study catalogued items found in the bedrooms of college students and saw that while liberals owned more books and travel-related items, conservatives had more things that kept order in their lives, like calendars and cleaning supplies. This tells us that liberals more often seek adventure and novel experiences. Conservatives, on the other hand, seem to prefer a more ordered, disciplined lifestyle. This could help explain why they are so resistant to change and progressive policies.
you don't see any gigantic leap there between looking at bedrooms and submitting therefore that conservatives are "resistant to change and progressive policies???" the idea that we've examined them critically and rejected them seem a reasonable alternative? any idea how absurd it is to say that if I keep my dorm room clean, im afraid of new experiences?? this is laughable on its face.
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4. Conservatives’ brains are more reactive to fear
Using MRI, scientists from University College London have found that students who identify themselves as conservatives have a larger amygdala than self-described liberals. This brain structure is involved in emotion processing, and is especially reactive to fearful stimuli. It is possible that an oversized amygdala could create a heightened sensitivity that may cause one to habitually overreact to anything that appears to be a potential threat, whether it actually is one or not. This disproportionate fear response could explain how, for example, Bush’s administration was able to gather wide public support amongst conservatives for invading Iraq. They knew if they said the phrase “weapons of mass destruction” enough times that it wouldn’t matter whether they really existed or not.
heres what I wrote the last time that misinterpreted garbage appeared here:
note that the area of the brain is merely larger in conservative types...and not completely absent in liberals. its a part of everyone's brain. everyone but the physiologically deficient experiences fear.
as it is, I say so what? but show me data that says that size necessarily translates into experiencing more fear, and id still say "so what?"
alternatively, let me turn this (and your thinking) on its head. if there is a "so what" im likely to say being better equipped to recognize danger, and chose the "fight or flight" option (or some other alternative) is better than not, or being less equipped to do so.
fear can be and is overcome by cognitive processes--show me data that says conservatives eschew activities or professions that require courage, especially compared to liberals, and then i'll think maybe you have something. otherwise, not and i'll just chalk it up to [liberals] being sad and bitter fellows. [who don't think very well either]
here’s a good tidbit to end the section on:
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it’s still unclear what a bigger amygdala (or a bigger anything in the brain) actually means in terms of behavior, not to mention how most brain regions have multiple functions. [in case you are wondering, that quote is from the author of the study]
http://www.zdnet.com/article/gray-matter-liberal-brains-vs-conservative-brains/
by the way---one of my old a&p texts tells me the amygdala is central to memory. if its smaller in liberals, gee, that might help explain why you all have such trouble learning from history.
gotta love this:
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The amygdala is also thought to participate in the height of a person's emotional intelligence. It is particularly hypothesized that larger amygdalae allow for greater emotional intelligence, enabling greater societal integration and cooperation with others.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amygdala
oooh, that's gotta hurt...
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