I think I'm finally really beginning to understand

[Duer 157099]

That is, how conservatives can think and behave the way they do.

Recall that there was a recently published studies showing the anatomical and physiological differences between liberal and conservative brains. There were threads here on DU discussing it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=843154&mesg_id=843154

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=853808&mesg_id=853808

(and probably others)

Many of those discussions focused on the overdeveloped right amygdala, which is involved in fear. And clearly fear has a big role in their lives.

But the other stucture that is different, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), is actually more interesting to me.

Know what the ACC does?

In the simplest terms, it's primary function is to detect errors and make appropriate course changes. To proofread, as it were. To find the errors and correct them.

So it's not surprising that a defect in this type of cognitive processing is associated with conservatives. It's right there in the word, conserve. To keep the same. To stay on course, NO MATTER WHAT.

They can't help it.

I advise that anyone who is trying to use logic to convince these people of anything, need to rethink their strategy. If their brains are hard-wired that way, you can't reason them out of it.

However, there ARE other things that can be done. Exercises that stimulate that portion of the brain to return it to normal function. There are probably other things too, certain foods, etc. We should start thinking in these terms.

[ret5hd]

1. So, your hypothesis is: "Cheetos cause conservatism"? I'd believe it.

[Duer 157099]

2. Well, not exactly.

It's hard to know, without studies, what the cause of the abnormal ACC actually is. Underuse? Genetic? Diet? Environment?

But there are certainly studies that show various stimuli that activate the ACC. Meditation, for one. Know many conservatives who meditate? Other things too. It's an area just crying out for more study, imho.

[ret5hd]

3. Well, I'm stickin' with the Cheetos hypothesis.

[Duer 157099]

4. Are you just saying that because of the orange stains on my fingers?

I'm crushed.

[Wait Wut]

5. Oooooh!

Does this mean we can trap them and make them guinea pigs?? We need to find the most advanced cases. We can start with their entire gang of possible presidential candidates.

They'll need to be sedated, at first, obviously. I'll stop at Petsmart and pick up some cages on my way home.

[notesdev]

6. You are treading dangerous ground here

The practice of defining one's political opposition using genetics and psychiatry has no positive role models in all of human history.

[Duer 157099]

7. These are reported findings

It's biology.

Curr Biol. 2011 Apr 5.

Political Orientations Are Correlated with Brain Structure in Young Adults.

Kanai R, Feilden T, Firth C, Rees G.

University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK.

Abstract

Substantial differences exist in the cognitive styles of liberals and conservatives on psychological measures <1>. Variability in political attitudes reflects genetic influences and their interaction with environmental factors <2, 3>. Recent work has shown a correlation between liberalism and conflict-related activity measured by event-related potentials originating in the anterior cingulate cortex <4>. Here we show that this functional correlate of political attitudes has a counterpart in brain structure. In a large sample of young adults, we related self-reported political attitudes to gray matter volume using structural MRI. We found that greater liberalism was associated with increased gray matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex, whereas greater conservatism was associated with increased volume of the right amygdala. These results were replicated in an independent sample of additional participants. Our findings extend previous observations that political attitudes reflect differences in self-regulatory conflict monitoring <4> and recognition of emotional faces <5> by showing that such attitudes are reflected in human brain structure. Although our data do not determine whether these regions play a causal role in the formation of political attitudes, they converge with previous work <4, 6> to suggest a possible link between brain structure and psychological mechanisms that mediate political attitudes.

Nat Neurosci. 2007 Oct;10(10):1246-7. Epub 2007 Sep 9.

Neurocognitive correlates of liberalism and conservatism.

Amodio DM, Jost JT, Master SL, Yee CM.

Department of Psychology, New York University, 6 Washington Place, New York, New York 10003, USA. [e-mail]

Abstract

Political scientists and psychologists have noted that, on average, conservatives show more structured and persistent cognitive styles, whereas liberals are more responsive to informational complexity, ambiguity and novelty. We tested the hypothesis that these profiles relate to differences in general neurocognitive functioning using event-related potentials, and found that greater liberalism was associated with stronger conflict-related anterior cingulate activity, suggesting greater neurocognitive sensitivity to cues for altering a habitual response pattern.

[notesdev]

9. Eugenicists usually do report their findings

Eugenics is a science, a dirty and evil science, but technically a science nonetheless, and its past practicioners were at least as diligent in recording the results of their work.

[Duer 157099]

10. Except that nobody said it was genetic, yet

In fact, they say they do NOT know whether it is causative or resultant.

They just show a correlation. Just like they do with all kinds of behaviors, normal and abberant.

[Myrina]

8. Read "Prometheus Rising"

... somewhat tongue-in-cheek when it was written, but has turned out (in my experience with people and politics) to be extremely accurate. Sigh.