Are the brains of liberals and conservatives different? A new study seems to suggest so. (hat tip, Dr. Helen)
Each participant was wired to an electroencephalograph that recorded activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, the part of the brain that detects conflicts between a habitual tendency (pressing a key) and a more appropriate response (not pressing the key). Liberals had more brain activity and made fewer mistakes than conservatives when they saw a W, researchers said. Liberals and conservatives were equally accurate in recognizing M. L.A. Times
Interesting Catch 22: if I dismiss the research, I must be a conservative. If I were liberal, I would be more likely to embrace the new idea. Except that it confirms a stereotype, an M, if you will.
And what about when the new ideas become the standard and the old ideas are the new ideas? It gets confusing like that whole old coke, new coke thing. (And if anyone can find that old Pepsi commercial about the old coke, new coke, coke classic bugaboo, I’d be forever grateful!)
Like the idea of America as a Christian nation. That seems to be a pretty old idea. Maybe conservative Christians are stuck on M. But we didn’t learn it in school.
Many want to do away with religion altogether, and frame the debate in pretty pejorative terms. The argument of the few is getting stronger, but religion continues to grow.
The NEA tends to be liberal, or at least support liberal politicians. But they do not embrace change when it comes to their organization. Or teacher certification. After all, we wouldn’t want any of those people teaching our kids.
I would like to give a more concrete rebuttal of the research into the political mind, but alas, I am no neurobiologist. I can, however, link to one. It sounds like perhaps a few too many people in the blogging world were a little quick to accept this new idea…this little W…that conservatives are stuck on M.
But then we all tend to latch onto that which confirms our own worldviews and shut out the rest. It is called schema theory.
Principled Discovery is a place to stop and discuss news and information related to faith, family and particularly education. Pour yourself a cup of tea and join the conversation! 
I think this is a simple case of the tail wagging the dog Dana… IMHO, people with “more structured and persistent cognitive styles” would tend be more conservative (in all things, not just politics and/or religion) and vice versa. After raising my own kids and teaching 7th & 8th graders at church for 12 years, I’m a solid believer that God wires us from birth according to His pleasure and for His purposes. Warriors are born warriors, and peacemakers are born peacemakers.. this gives us a God-given laboratory to live out the grace given to us among people not all like us.
I told Dr. Helen that I thought we were just better at pattern recognition.
I wouldn’t doubt that there may be something to it. After all, what is the definition of liberal? Someone who is working toward social change. But as someone in another discussion pointed out, what is liberal here is quite conservative in another context. You cannot make value judgments based on the actual ideas behind liberal and conservative.
But it appears that the sample size is pretty small, and several factors that may well have more bearing on the experiment were not considered. So you cannot really make any conclusion from this study in particular.
LOL I tend to be a conservative liberal…wonder where I fall?
Someone else asked where libertarians fall. They don’t seem to fit anywhere!
I’m a liberal in the classic sense of the word. : )
This only confirms what we already know - liberals don’t like “W.”
The funny thing is, the article tries to connect this to Bush’s stance on Iraq. But Bush isn’t a conservative. Maybe on some issues, but his falling support has as much to do with his inability to effectively support conservative values in politics, ie. limited government.
Which explains the fervor behind Ron Paul, even if you do think he is a nut.
This is the third study I have read about that seems to imply conservatives have some kind of brain imbalance. As liberals begin to amass a body of evidence how long before they declare them selves the superior race and institutionalize all conservatives?
Do you think they will give us gyms, cable tv and Internet access?
Cause if we’re treated as nicely as some offenders, it might not be all bad.