[NetBehaviour] Study finds left-wing brain, right-wing brain.

marc garrett marc.garrett at furtherfield.org
Wed Sep 12 12:13:00 CEST 2007


Study finds left-wing brain, right-wing brain.

Even in humdrum nonpolitical decisions, liberals and conservatives 
literally think differently, researchers show.


By Denise Gellene.

Exploring the neurobiology of politics, scientists have found that 
liberals tolerate ambiguity and conflict better than conservatives 
because of how their brains work.

In a simple experiment reported todayin the journal Nature Neuroscience, 
scientists at New York University and UCLA show that political 
orientation is related to differences in how the brain processes 
information.

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.

Participants were college students whose politics ranged from "very 
liberal" to "very conservative." They were instructed to tap a keyboard 
when an M appeared on a computer monitor and to refrain from tapping 
when they saw a W.

M appeared four times more frequently than W, conditioning participants 
to press a key in knee-jerk fashion whenever they saw a letter.

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.

more...
http://linkme2.net/ci




More information about the NetBehaviour mailing list