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Liberals and Conservatives have different brain structures

Started by somatichypermutation, February 14, 2013, 10:14:22 AM

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130213173131.htm

"Democrats showed significantly greater activity in the left insula, a region associated with social and self-awareness. Meanwhile Republicans showed significantly greater activity in the right amygdala, a region involved in the body's fight-or-flight system. These results suggest that liberals and conservatives engage different cognitive processes when they think about risk.

In fact, brain activity in these two regions alone can be used to predict whether a person is a Democrat or Republican with 82.9% accuracy. By comparison, the longstanding traditional model in political science, which uses the party affiliation of a person's mother and father to predict the child's affiliation, is only accurate about 69.5% of the time. And another model based on the differences in brain structure distinguishes liberals from conservatives with only 71.6% accuracy.

"

Sardondi

You cannot seriously think this has any relation to reality.


onan

Lots of concerns here. First the study had less than a hundred participants. Second the terms liberal and conservative are pretty vague. The study participants were over 60 percent skewed towards liberal.


Both of the regions measured, are used in emotional processing. There are differences in how each of us process information... of all types. But generally speaking our similarities are greater than the difference.


To take the conversation down a notch, we all use fight or flight everyday probably hourly. It isn't a condemnation to use fight or flight or at least it shouldn't be.


Science is science. Data is data. How it is interpreted is more complicated. From what I have seen in the scans it seems pretty evident there is a processing difference. But until a much larger population is measured I don't think it carries a bunch of weight.




http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120827122410.htm

" "Making the public aware of how their mind works and affects their political behavior is critically important," Hatemi says."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110407121337.htm

"Individuals who call themselves liberal tend to have larger anterior cingulate cortexes, while those who call themselves conservative have larger amygdalas. Based on what is known about the functions of those two brain regions, the structural differences are consistent with reports showing a greater ability of liberals to cope with conflicting information and a greater ability of conservatives to recognize a threat, the researchers say.

"Previously, some psychological traits were known to be predictive of an individual's political orientation," said Ryota Kanai of the University College London. "Our study now links such personality traits with specific brain structure."

Kanai said his study was prompted by reports from others showing greater anterior cingulate cortex response to conflicting information among liberals. "That was the first neuroscientific evidence for biological differences between liberals and conservatives," he explained.

There had also been many prior psychological reports showing that conservatives are more sensitive to threat or anxiety in the face of uncertainty, while liberals tend to be more open to new experiences. Kanai's team suspected that such fundamental differences in personality might show up in the brain.

And, indeed, that's exactly what they found. Kanai says they can't yet say for sure which came first. It's possible that brain structure isn't set in early life, but rather can be shaped over time by our experiences. And, of course, some people have been known to change their views over the course of a lifetime
"

Eddie Coyle

Quote from: somatic hypermutation on February 14, 2013, 10:57:32 AM
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120827122410.htm

" "Making the public aware of how their mind works and affects their political behavior is critically important," Hatemi says."
Where's the "so we can correct their ways...before we have to neutralize them".  This is the type of "science" that thrived in the Third Reich. Divisive at best.

BigDave

Quote from: Eddie Coyle on February 14, 2013, 11:01:43 AM
      Where's the "so we can correct their ways...before we have to neutralize them".  This is the type of "science" that thrived in the Third Reich. Divisive at best.

I find myself wondering if the USA is heading in that direction.

The General

I'd be more interested in a comparative study of penis size.

Eddie Coyle

Quote from: The General on February 14, 2013, 11:04:50 AM
I'd be more interested in a comparative study of penis size.

       They'd tell me, "we're not sure if you're liberal or conservative. But you're definitely Irish" :'(

analog kid

QuoteFight or Flight: In current times, these responses persist, but fight and flight responses have assumed a wider range of behaviors. For example, the fight response may be manifested in angry, argumentative behavior, and the flight response may be manifested through social withdrawal, substance abuse, and even television viewing.

Whoa.

HAL 9000

Quote from: somatic hypermutation on February 14, 2013, 11:00:57 AM... while liberals tend to be more open to new experiences.

Without needing to conduct my own study, I'd say the above conclusion is prima facie evidence that just the opposite is true. When confronted with logic, reason, and empirical evidence, liberals close their minds faster than my asshole slams shut at a gay pride rally.



Quote from: somatic hypermutation on February 14, 2013, 11:00:57 AMIt's possible that brain structure isn't set in early life, but rather can be shaped over time by our experiences. And, of course, some people have been known to change their views over the course of a lifetime.

Stop the presses! Alert! Alert! Scientists say that humans have the ability to change their minds during their lifetimes! Read all about it! Read all about it!

Res ipsa loquitur anyone?





analog kid

Quote from: McPhallus on February 14, 2013, 12:04:06 PM
This has the foul stench of a Zircon thread.

Yeah, definitely flame bait subject matter.

Cheers, coastgab.

Yorkshire pud

Quote from: HAL 9000 on February 14, 2013, 12:00:44 PM
Without needing to conduct my own study, I'd say the above conclusion is prima facie evidence that just the opposite is true. When confronted with logic, reason, and empirical evidence, liberals close their minds faster than my asshole slams shut at a gay pride rally.


Read that again and you might see the irony... No, probably not.







ItsOver

Hey, at least Libs and Cons have brain structures.  That's more than Jorch can say.

onan

Quote from: ItsOver on February 14, 2013, 12:40:50 PM
Hey, at least Libs and Cons have brain structures.  That's more than Jorch can say.


Excellent point.

Eddie Coyle

Quote from: McPhallus on February 14, 2013, 12:04:06 PM
This has the foul stench of a Zircon thread.
Ouch!
     Except people have actually responded. That's the only difference.

Yorkshire pud

“I'm a registered Republican, I only seem liberal because I believe that hurricanes are caused by high barometric pressure and not gay marriage.” I chuckled at that.  :)

Aaron Sorkin...as used in Newsroom by Will McAvoy..



Sardondi

Quote from: onan on February 14, 2013, 03:48:27 PM
Was it Jindal that said we have to stop being the stupid party?

What you mean "we" kemo sabe? And exactly what relevance does Jindal's warning to the GOP infrastructure (without really saying what "stupid" was) have to a thread based upon a laughable junk-science "study" with all the academic gravitas of a conclave of Jersey Shore cast members to determine the precise number of honkey tonk angels which may safely dance on a Bruce Springsteen guitar pick.

Also, I wonder why it is the usual blog suspects such as HuffPo, Politico, DU, Daily Beast, Rachel Maddow, Media Matters, etc., who little more than a month ago could barely keep their gorge from rising when discussing Bobby Jindal and what to their minds was his race-betrayal in choosing to be a Republican, suddenly found him such a brilliant and insightful commentator?

Juan

I feel that this thread is taking us away from our primary purpose.

George Noory sucks.

HAL 9000

Quote from: Yorkshire pud on February 14, 2013, 12:39:14 PMRead that again and you might see the irony... No, probably not.

I find it somewhat intriguing how so many people are incapable of truly recognizing irony. The first sentence was more tongue-in-cheek than anything else - I was going for the laugh with the asshole slamming shut. Oh well, different senses of humor.

See how diverse I am by recognizing that? Or by saying that, does that make me even more non-PC? And 'round and 'round we go.

onan

Quote from: Sardondi on February 14, 2013, 04:12:00 PM
What you mean "we" kemo sabe? And exactly what relevance does Jindal's warning to the GOP infrastructure (without really saying what "stupid" was) have to a thread based upon a laughable junk-science "study" with all the academic gravitas of a conclave of Jersey Shore cast members to determine the precise number of honkey tonk angels which may safely dance on a Bruce Springsteen guitar pick.

Also, I wonder why it is the usual blog suspects such as HuffPo, Politico, DU, Daily Beast, Rachel Maddow, Media Matters, etc., who little more than a month ago could barely keep their gorge from rising when discussing Bobby Jindal and what to their minds was his race-betrayal in choosing to be a Republican, suddenly found him such a brilliant and insightful commentator?
If you notice, I deleted the post, well at least changed it.
I dunno, Sar... really I don't. However the science wasn't junk. The conclusions really didn't say conservatives were less intelligent. It said if I remember correctly that the amygdala played more of role in certain aspects of thought.
I can honestly say I have never thought Jindal to be "brilliant", but that is me. I think his statement however wasn't an indictment of the party's intelligence but rather its strategies and which base they play to.
Back to the science though. I know a patient that suffered severe brain trauma as a child he now teaches advanced mathematics at Duke. So this particular study was misrepresented, misunderstood, and certainly missed any target of relevance. That however doesn't negate the data. so what if one person is more likely to originate their thought from the amygdala as opposed to the insula.
Lastly, isn't it at least interesting to see our brains operate? I mean the question of chicken or egg always fascinates me. Does one through behavior cues form different ways to think or does biology determine to some degree how we view things. Just sayin, I find that something worth discussing.

Quote from: HAL 9000 on February 14, 2013, 04:23:31 PM
I find it somewhat intriguing how so many people are incapable of truly recognizing irony. The first sentence was more tongue-in-cheek than anything else - I was going for the laugh with the asshole slamming shut. Oh well, different senses of humor.

See how diverse I am by recognizing that? Or by saying that, does that make me even more non-PC? And 'round and 'round we go.

For the record, I got a chuckle from both posts.

Yorkshire pud

Quote from: HAL 9000 on February 14, 2013, 04:23:31 PM
I find it somewhat intriguing how so many people are incapable of truly recognizing irony. The first sentence was more tongue-in-cheek than anything else - I was going for the laugh with the asshole slamming shut. Oh well, different senses of humor.


The humour wasn't lost on me I assure you; but I 'truly' did recognise the irony. Interestingly right wing Christian zealots aren't known for their liberalism or accomodating of those who don't conform. In the UK, religion is seldom if ever worn on the sleeve by politicians (Of any denomination), yet in the USA, it's almost compulsory or they're seen as lacking credibility, integrity, decency and ability. So in my mind that is conforming to an unsaid dictat, that isn't questioned.

Quote
Seeo how diverse I am by recognizing that? Or by saying that, does that make me even more non-PC? And 'round and 'round we go.

Jeeeze, I detest P C on principle. All I'd like is fairness; but that's an entire forum let alone a thread.

Pragmier

QuoteThe new study suggests that ... being a Republican or Democrat changes how the brain functions.

The article author is putting the carriage before the horse here. People have different political affiliations because they think differently, not the other way around. The argument can be made results show the importance of both (many?) view points; we were given complete brains and as a country relying overwhelmingly on compartmentalised thinking is a shortcoming not an asset.

This procedure, if true, also rings alarm:
QuoteDr. Schreiber and his UC San Diego collaborators were able to look up the political party registration of the participants in public records.

I'm a registered Rep but lean left and vote Dem about 75%.

onan

What I find interesting is who has taken significant objection in this thread, yet had little to say in other threads that posed similar "us against them" studies, just from the other side of the aisle. If one is to use critical thinking and also be fair one would hope to see the same level of criticism, I didn't find that.

Quote from: onan on February 15, 2013, 06:44:31 AM
What I find interesting is who has taken significant objection in this thread, yet had little to say in other threads that posed similar "us against them" studies, just from the other side of the aisle. If one is to use critical thinking and also be fair one would hope to see the same level of criticism, I didn't find that.

But doesn't that also fit with the brain structure study discussed in this thread?

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