OK, not really a news flash, but the data is interesting. Here are some selected quotes from the Economist on line: http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2012/01/physiology-and-politics
"..... According to one famous study, conservatives are not just more god-fearing than liberals (as Americans call left-leaning folk). They are more fearful in general, making them more receptive to threatening aspects of the environment. Hence, the argument goes, their penchant for tougher policing, harsher sentencing, stronger armed forces and other Republican shibboleths.
However, this observation does not by itself explain liberals' preoccupation with progressive policies which often aim to make people's lives more pleasant, as opposed to less unpleasant. Michael Dodd, of the University of Nebraska, wondered whether this is because they are drawn more strongly than conservatives are to the bright side of life. As he and his colleagues report in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, this does in fact appear to be the case...."
The article goes on to discuss the methodology which involved a series of studies of how mixed groups of people react to various types of stimuli.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
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