[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
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