Exploring the neurobiology of politics, scientists have found that liberals tolerate ambiguity and conflict better than conservatives because of how their brains work.So this gets even more interesting when you consider the plasticity of the brain. I bet there are ways to train someone into either of the two directions. My question is, how can we train the majority of people to be more open-minded and flexible?
Previous psychological studies have found that conservatives tend to be more structured and persistent in their judgments whereas liberals are more open to new experiences. The latest study found those traits are not confined to political situations but also influence everyday decisions.
The results show "there are two cognitive styles -- a liberal style and a conservative style," said UCLA neurologist Dr. Marco Iacoboni, who was not connected to the latest research.
Monday, September 10, 2007
The neurobiology of politics
Study finds left-wing brain, right-wing brain - Los Angeles Times
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So let me see if I understand this: Liberal brains and conservative brains are different. Those with conservative brains are more likely to try to fit the world to their preconceived notions and thus make more mistakes than liberals, who are better at taking in more information and correctly apprehending the actual situation in the real world. We can deduce this because those who self-identify as liberals are, on average, better at distinguishing between a "W" and an "M".
Hmm... I'm sure glad I don't have one of those defective conservative brains that tries to fit the world to my prejudices based on incomplete or insufficient data that bear a superficial resemblance to my preconceived notions about the way things should be. That sure would be horrible.
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