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LIBERALS and CONSERVATIVES REALLY WORK
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Shall we draw conclusions
from new scientific study?
of TheColumnists.com
Here’s scientific confirmation of something you’ve probably always suspected, when you thought about it, which was probably not that often: Liberals’ brains and conservatives’ brains operate differently.
Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles and at New York University used electroencephalograms to test responses among 44 students who rated themselves as either conservatives or liberals. The subjects pressed a button when they saw a cue. The cue was presented often enough so that the button-press became habitual. But once in a while, the cue changed, calling for a different response. And guess what? The liberals were more likely to change their response accordingly; the conservatives were not.
The findings were published in the journal
Nature Neuroscience.
This latest go-‘round confirms earlier research, New York
University said in its press release.
“Previous studies have found that conservatives tend to be more persistent in their judgments and decision-making, while liberals are more likely to be open to new experiences. These differences are related to a process known as conflict monitoring - a mechanism for detecting when a habitual response is not appropriate to a new situation,” the release said.
The NYU release summed things up by saying “The findings support previous suggestions that political orientation may in part reflect differences in cognitive mechanisms.”
Does this mean that liberals are smarter than conservatives?
Political liberals will argue that it does, but perhaps not. It was a small study, to begin with, even though it seemed to confirm earlier research.
What it may mean is that liberals have brains that are more prone to accommodate the new--in politics and ideas. You could infuriate conservatives by saying that liberal brains are more “nimble” than are conservative brains. But conservatives could argue that they have more stick-to-itiveness than do liberals, and are less likely to be derailed by distractions.
Sure, a distraction like an iceberg straight ahead of the Titanic, say liberals.
Does the research mean that a classic case of differing brains lies right before us in the argument over What To Do In Iraq? You can certainly make that argument. Lots of exceptions on either side, but in the broadest terms possible, Democrats argue that we ought to get out. Change. Republicans, again in the broadest terms, say we should stay the course. Don’t change. That’s illustrated most clearly in the stances taken by the Democratic presidential hopefuls vs. the Republican ones.
But “liberalism” and “conservatism” in politics doesn’t seem to consistently apply to other aspects of life. A political liberal may recoil in horror at far-out new clothing styles, for instance. Can you imagine John Kerry in one of those tight, tight suits, wearing oversize sunglasses and enormous white sneakers--a combination you’re likely to see on models in ads for the latest in male fashion? (The kinds of hats and other paraphernalia worn by delegates to both the Republican and Democratic national conventions are outside the scope of this scientific discussion.)
And many, many politically liberal academics are extremely conservative when it comes to use of the English language. They hate it, for instance, when someone says “hopefully” when they are describing something that the speaker wishes to happen or not happen, as in “hopefully, I will not fall down this flight of stairs after five martinis.” No, no, no, say the language conservatives, the word describes the manner in which one is speaking, not a wish. It is an adverb, dammit.
More research is needed, as the scientists are so fond of saying.
Still, it is fascinating to speculate that we’re still in Iraq because of the way Vice President Cheney’s and President Bush’s brains are hard-wired to process information. Neuroscience can be cruel.
©2007 by Charles M. McFadden. The McFadden caricature is ©2001 by Jim Hummel. The illustration is from IMSI's Master Clips Collection, 1895 Francisco Blvd. E., San Rafael, CA, 94901-5506, USA. This column first posted Sept. 17, 2007.
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