^ Ironically true to his form, that guy seems to have misunderstood the study.

9/18/2007 1:34:00 AM

Alright, enough with the knee-jerk reactions. Lets start with how the study worked:

Quote :

"Volunteers rated their political affiliation on a scale from -5 to +5, and then had their brain activity measured as they performed a Go/No-Go test. This involved being shown either a letter M or W on a screen. When they saw the M, they were to press a button (Go), but when they saw the W they were to refrain (No Go). To begin with, almost all of the signals are Go, resulting in a habitual effect where subjects instinctively press the button when they see the signal. When a No Go appears, the brain has to process the conflict between the habitual response to press the button and the knowledge that the letter is actually a W. "

This is the listed description of the study:

Quote :

"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."

Basically, the study's results support the hypothesis that liberals handled "changes to the norm" better and quicker than conservatives. This is not an open and shut case.

Also, the original blog post by Jonathon Gitlin addresses the ill-conceived conclusions that can be drawn from this study:

Quote :

"Now, that’s not to say that liberals have better brains than conservatives, regardless of how it might be spun, but the results of previous studies show that liberals show higher tolerance for ambiguity and complexity on psychological tests, and that conservatives tend towards needing greater structure and order. Of course, the results should not be taken as pejorative; they don't claim to show that conservatives have lesser brains or neurocognitive function, despite how such conclusions might be spun. It does show that the way our brains are hardwired affects the decisions we make, even in the voting booth. "

The study doesn't prove liberals are "smarter." It suggests liberals adapt more easily to change. Personally, I like the latest response to the blog:

Quote :

"The study can reach the conclusion "liberals are smarter than conservatives" only by making the sort of unscientific, intuitive, and ultimately indefensible leap of faith which science should never make. There is a lot more to adaptive intelligence than can be measured by a few minutes of button-pushing."

[Edited on September 18, 2007 at 1:12 PM. Reason : f]

9/18/2007 1:11:43 PM

Quote :

"It suggests liberals adapt more easily to change. "

Something in me just wants to shout out the word, DUH! So this study is pointless and it states the obvious? What a waste of research money and time. Anyone with a dictionary could have figured this out...

conservative - disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.

liberal - favorable to change, progress, or reform, as in political or religious affairs.

[Edited on September 18, 2007 at 4:07 PM. Reason : durrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...]

9/18/2007 4:05:22 PM

Quote :

"It suggests liberals adapt more easily to change"

no

i think it suggests liberals are more likely to want change as opposed to adapting to the current situation

rather than adapt to unwanted change, they would rather change it into something wanted