Comments on: Why Liberals and Conservatives Think Worlds Appart http://skepticum.com/why-liberals-and-conservatives-think-worlds-appart/ A Godless Skeptic's Notes on Liberty, Religion, Society, and More... Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:23:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: heather http://skepticum.com/why-liberals-and-conservatives-think-worlds-appart/#comment-595 heather Thu, 13 Sep 2007 19:26:46 +0000 http://skepticum.com/why-liberals-and-conservatives-think-worlds-appart/#comment-595 Fascinating research. I think the difference is indeed to do with open-mindedness - willingness to think about evidence and to rethink it when the situation changes. To realise that some people's brains are naturally more comfortable with repeating learned patterns might actually explain why irrational belief systems continue to be propagated. Fascinating research.
I think the difference is indeed to do with open-mindedness - willingness to think about evidence and to rethink it when the situation changes.
To realise that some people’s brains are naturally more comfortable with repeating learned patterns might actually explain why irrational belief systems continue to be propagated.

]]> By: Mana Master of Mischief http://skepticum.com/why-liberals-and-conservatives-think-worlds-appart/#comment-589 Mana Master of Mischief Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:00:13 +0000 http://skepticum.com/why-liberals-and-conservatives-think-worlds-appart/#comment-589 In my description I tried to simplify the explanation of the text. The Ms appeared more frequently than the Ws in the first test. So imagine typing M 47 times in a row not knowing when next W would appear. Conservatives had more trouble typing W when it appeared on the screen after a repetitive string of Ms, for example. They also repeated the experiment with W being more frequent and achieved the same results. And no, the study only refers to cognitive patterns not to intelligence--"neurocognitive sensitivity to cues for altering a habitual response pattern". It looked to identify activity in the brain during these tests and correlated it with socio/political affiliation. The way I interpreted it is if our brain is like a computer program that continually writes itself based on every moment's cognitive inputs, when it comes to overwriting/rewriting or correcting code the liberal brain seems to take more time and analyze before rewriting its code, when the conservative brain has a harder time breaking and rewriting patters. In my description I tried to simplify the explanation of the text. The Ms appeared more frequently than the Ws in the first test. So imagine typing M 47 times in a row not knowing when next W would appear. Conservatives had more trouble typing W when it appeared on the screen after a repetitive string of Ms, for example. They also repeated the experiment with W being more frequent and achieved the same results.

And no, the study only refers to cognitive patterns not to intelligence–”neurocognitive sensitivity to cues for altering a habitual response pattern”. It looked to identify activity in the brain during these tests and correlated it with socio/political affiliation.

The way I interpreted it is if our brain is like a computer program that continually writes itself based on every moment’s cognitive inputs, when it comes to overwriting/rewriting or correcting code the liberal brain seems to take more time and analyze before rewriting its code, when the conservative brain has a harder time breaking and rewriting patters.

]]> By: johnny http://skepticum.com/why-liberals-and-conservatives-think-worlds-appart/#comment-587 johnny Wed, 12 Sep 2007 02:49:56 +0000 http://skepticum.com/why-liberals-and-conservatives-think-worlds-appart/#comment-587 I found this very interesting. However, I am a little skeptical. How exactly is mistaking a M for a W, translate into dispositions for political values. Also, isn't the study implicitly claiming that liberals are more intelligent, i.e. they can understand distinctions more clearly? I found this very interesting. However, I am a little skeptical. How exactly is mistaking a M for a W, translate into dispositions for political values. Also, isn’t the study implicitly claiming that liberals are more intelligent, i.e. they can understand distinctions more clearly?

]]>