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Scientists Are Beginning to Figure Out Why Conservatives Are…Conservative
The title seems bias, and in a certain light it is, but it's because the studies have focused on the personality attributes that defines conservatives. It's implied that the opposings to these define Liberals.
It's worth reading the full article, as it's not entirely too long. It really hammers home the notion that there are fundemental differences between many of those who subscribe to liberal and conservative views. At one point they mention the common traits featured in many conservatives:
What I find surprising is how much backlash this has gotten in the past, and is likely to get now. Thankfully it won't go very far because of how solid this is. There isn't anything inheriently good or bad about this. It simply is. It's observed traits shown as a trend, not everyone is going to fit to it (I certainly buck it; reading the above quote by all accounts I should be very very conservative as all of those define me except the last). It's still enlightining though and does lend to considering different ways of discourse and presentation when it comes to politics.
Discuss.
The title seems bias, and in a certain light it is, but it's because the studies have focused on the personality attributes that defines conservatives. It's implied that the opposings to these define Liberals.
Excerpts said:Ten years ago, it was wildly controversial to talk about psychological differences between liberals and conservatives. Today, it's becoming hard not to.
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[In] the latest issue of the journal, this process reveals the following conclusion: A large body of political scientists and political psychologists now concur that liberals and conservatives disagree about politics in part because they are different people at the level of personality, psychology, and even traits like physiology and genetics.
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in the latest issue of the journal, this process reveals the following conclusion: A large body of political scientists and political psychologists now concur that liberals and conservatives disagree about politics in part because they are different people at the level of personality, psychology, and even traits like physiology and genetics. ... Twenty-six different scholars or groups of scholars then got an opportunity to tee off on the paper, firing off a variety of responses. But as Hibbing and colleagues note in their final reply, out of those responses, "22 or 23 accept the general idea" of a conservative negativity bias, and simply add commentary to aid in the process of "modifying it, expanding on it, specifying where it does and does not work," and so on. Only about three scholars or groups of scholars seem to reject the idea entirely.
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All of this matters, of course, because we still operate in politics and in media as if minds can be changed by the best honed arguments, the most compelling facts. And yet if our political opponents are simply perceiving the world differently, that idea starts to crumble. Out of the rubble just might arise a better way of acting in politics that leads to less dysfunction and less gridlock…thanks to science.
It's worth reading the full article, as it's not entirely too long. It really hammers home the notion that there are fundemental differences between many of those who subscribe to liberal and conservative views. At one point they mention the common traits featured in many conservatives:
Conservative Traits said:This research consistently finds that conservatism is positively associated with heightened epistemic concerns for order, structure, closure, certainty, consistency, simplicity, and familiarity, as well as existential concerns such as perceptions of danger, sensitivity to threat, and death anxiety.
What I find surprising is how much backlash this has gotten in the past, and is likely to get now. Thankfully it won't go very far because of how solid this is. There isn't anything inheriently good or bad about this. It simply is. It's observed traits shown as a trend, not everyone is going to fit to it (I certainly buck it; reading the above quote by all accounts I should be very very conservative as all of those define me except the last). It's still enlightining though and does lend to considering different ways of discourse and presentation when it comes to politics.
Discuss.