A neuroscientist explains what could be wrong with Trump supporters brains

[RandomAccess]

Interesting article. I am ALWAYS interested in trying to figure those cretins out:

A neuroscientist explains what could be wrong with Trump supporters brains

There’s no doubt that Donald Trump has said many things that would have been political suicide for any other Republican. And almost every time he made one of these shocking statements, political analysts on both the left and the right predicted that he’d lose supporters because of it. But as we have clearly seen over the past year, they were dead wrong every time. Trump appears to be almost totally bulletproof.

The only thing that might be more perplexing than the psychology of Donald Trump is the psychology of his supporters. In their eyes, The Donald can do no wrong. Even Trump himself seems to be astonished by this phenomenon. “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK? It’s, like, incredible.”

Senator John McCain, who has been a regular target for Trump, has a simple explanation for his unwavering support. “What he did was he fired up the crazies.”

While the former Republican presidential nominee may be on to something, he doesn’t exactly provide a very satisfying scientific explanation. So how exactly are Trump loyalists psychologically or neurologically different from everyone else? What is going on in their brains that makes them so blindly devoted?

The Dunning-Kruger Effect . . .

Hypersensitivity to Threat . . .

Terror Management Theory . . .

High Attentional Engagement . . .
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/neuroscientist-explains-wrong-trump-supporters-brains/

[elocs]

1. "The unbridled loyalty" of not only Trump supporters but most Republicans

explains their electoral success. There is probably at least a solid 30% of the electorate that will support Trump unconditionally and they will not be moved. However, there are also many Republicans who did not like Trump but still voted for him because they did not want Clinton to win, wanted a Republican president to nominate justices to the Supreme Court. They are pragmatic and they can be moved--maybe not to vote for a Democrat but simply not to vote.

How can the Left win elections despite the unbridled loyalty of Republicans? It's by fucking showing up and voting for the Democratic candidates even when they are imperfect and don't pass a Liberal purity test. I am more than a little pissed off by the either lazy, childish, or self-righteous tendency of those on the Left to simply not show up and vote unless they are motivated or excited by the race or that the Democratic candidate is just not good enough for them. Imagine being a part of a family that depends on you and when the big moment comes you say, "I'm just not feeling it, not excited or motivated so I pass". Well you just let your family down. When the Left if the general election does not vote for the Democratic candidate, they have let their family down because the winner is either going to be the Democratic candidate or the Republican one--that's it. If you want to move the party to the Left then work hard to do it, but not in a general election.
Democrats don't need unbridled loyalty to succeed, but they do need loyalty.

[RandomAccess]

2. Good rant

[yardwork]

15. Great rant!

On another message board I saw a post after the election that said the attitude of Democrats who didn't vote for the nominee was like saying "They were out of my favorite topping at the pizza shop so I ate garbage instead."

[world wide wally]

19. Good point about the "purity test"

[snort]

22. Yes

[Scurrilous]

23. ...

[Cartoonist]

29. Purity

I am so sick of this argument. No one is demanding purity, just principle. If Trump was to switch parties, would we welcome him? I sure wouldn't.

[dalton99a]

3. .

[syringis]

4. Hi RandomAccess

I will say it in a much more simple way :

It's a lack of education which results in a clear lack of critical sense.

[earthshine]

5. GOTV is the only way to win!

We can't win the battle of ideas when the opposition has so many hardened nitwits.

We have to outnumber them at the polls. It's the only way!

[sharedvalues]

8. Yes. And this is a Dem majority country

If we increase turnout, we win. GOTV!

[pangaia]

14. And outnumber them by a LOT !!

Plus use paper ballots!

PLUS no gestapo poll guards!

PLUS enough polling places..everywhere!

Plus......

[RandomAccess]

31. We actually have to do more than that --

We have to overcome a LOT of dirty tricks on the right, not to mention Russia:

Hillary didn't lose because she was less POPULAR. She lost because of James Comey's letters and because of some even more important factors -- more important because they're not going away. They will be used against us in every election going forward, unless we can stop them.

The big problems are voter suppression, Russian meddling, and targeted voter propaganda through Twitter, Google, Facebook, and other forms of social media. There is no question that the Trump campaign, through Cambridge Analytica, did this -- and that the Russians did this. The only question is how much they conspired together in the propaganda campaign.

We need to figure out how to defend the democratic process from fake news and micro-targeted AI propaganda -- or lose our democracy. https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029576691

[highplainsdem]

6. K&R

[sharedvalues]

7. No. Whats wrong: propaganda. From GOP billionaires

As Milgram showed, humans are not that different.

The main difference between the GOP base and Democrats and patriotic Americans is propaganda. The GOP base chooses to listen to propaganda that is controlled by American oligarchs— GOP billionaires like the Koches and Murdoch and Mercer.

[pangaia]

9. Last paragraph in the article...

"So what can we do to potentially change the minds of Trump loyalists before voting in 2020? As a cognitive neuroscientist, it grieves me to say that there may be nothing we can do. The overwhelming majority of these people may be beyond reach, at least in the short term. The best we can do is to motivate everyone else to get out to the booths and check the box that doesn’t belong to a narcissistic nationalist who has the potential to damage the nation beyond repair."

[Cary]

11. I have been saying this for years

Forget the reprobate, coalesce and beat them into submission.

That's the only language they understand.

[Ferrets are Cool]

10. If everyone who isn't actually a registered republican voter...

would go out and VOTE, we (Democrats) would never lose another major election. It should NOT take a disaster like the PGIC to get people to the voting ballots. It's a privilege to vote. And its a right that should not be squandered. People have died for us to have this right.

[Rorey]

17. This

" It's a privilege to vote. And its a right that should not be squandered. People have died for us to have this right."

I wish everyone would realize this.

[Ferrets are Cool]

18. TY

[Botany]

12. Trump scratches these deplorable people's itches*

* Racist, sexist, bigoted, anti-education, anti science, and right wing pastor's lies.

Look @ Trump's continual visits to W.V. where he can count on a big crowd
of dumb fucks who will chant lock her up and women who wear "Trump Can
Grab My Pussy," t-shirts.

[Cary]

13. "Conservative" pathology is obvious

What's our patbology?

You know, the one that compels some erstwhile liberals to attack Democrats at every turn? What causes that and how do we stem that in order to defeat fascists?

[RandomAccess]

32. What causes it?

A desire for the Party to be different, do different -- a desire for constant improvement, not backsliding complacency.

I can be highly critical, but it's precisely because I am optimistic enough to think the Democratic party CAN do better.

[Cary]

35. I'm not convinced from what I've seen

I think sowing discord and discontent is an end in and of itself. What has convinced me of this is the visciousness with which I have been attacked for not toeing the line, and then on top of that nastiness I get gaslighted.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

36. Cary, I think you're right to a degree, but...

Let's remember our party is relatively open as to member participation and I suspect the number of hard-ass rebels are few (but loud). However, from what I've heard the Repug Party by comparison is very closed, secretive and top-down. I suspect their platform is dictated by the oligarchs. In other words, shut up and let Daddy do all the thinking.

Another element in this issue is that on open internet forums, most Democrats respect the fact that almost everyone has an equal voice and we actually listen to one another. In contrast, the right-wing base probably makes a lot of noise but no one listens. They keep their base in a constant frenzy, but to no end. There's no better example than Mitch McConnell of a Repug that's stone-deaf to a large percentage of his base.

Regardless, there's no excuse for being vicious because it just causes others to clam up and nothing is accomplished. A sign of immaturity and unwarranted fears, I suspect.

[Cary]

41. I was thinking Horseshoe Theory

The radical extremes are alike.

[Martin Eden]

45. There are many causes because there are many types on the Left

No single broad brush explanation or characterization is true.

I'm with you for a process of continual improvement in the Democratic Party and its candidates -- and we won't have that without honest rigorous discussion including criticism.

The difference between success and failure is how that criticism manifests in discussions. If we demonize and shut out those who disagree even though we are all on the same side in the larger battle against fascism & oligarchy, we will have actively participated the strategy of divide and conquer those forces use to defeat us.

The passion we all bring to this struggle has to be channelled constructively without losing sight of the larger goal.

Either that, or we will continue eating our own.

[cutroot]

16. Anyone that cultivates hatred towards the citizens of the United States,

should be considered to be a potential terrorist.

[world wide wally]

20. They have us outgunned with their gerrymandering, voter suppression and control of the states.

What we have are the sheer numbers.
We HAVE to turn out the HUGE number of voters to just overwhelm them.
Then we win.

[NBachers]

21. They all need to be autopsied immediately so we can quantify their brainal hemorrhoids.

[yardwork]

24. This is a great article!

[Yavin4]

25. Here's the money shot from that article

The best we can do is to motivate everyone else to get out to the booths and check the box that doesn’t belong to a narcissistic nationalist who has the potential to damage the nation beyond repair.

In one word, TURNOUT. The Dems have to focus their efforts on getting people who don't think like this to turnout and vote. This is why disparaging other Dems or going negative is bad. That depresses turnout. If enough people believe that there's no difference between Trump and his rival, they won't vote.

[sandensea]

26. That - and a lot of intense racism.

As anyone who's spoken to at least a few Republicans, behind their other "concerns" lies a seething hatred of what they consider to be a browning of America.

They'll vote for anyone who echoes those feelings, and who promises to somehow stop the trend (even if they don't).

[mentalslavery]

27. None of this is accurate....and it is really strange and dangerous

to try to explain something that does not exist. These ideas are completely miss-applied...

The only thing here that is true is that there is a MINORITY of voters...between 23 and 34% who will slavishly support R's. All of these theories and dynamics play a role in how some of these voters behave.

HOWEVER, the assertion that he does not lose support is factual not accurate. His support has changed and does change on a regular basis.

LIBERALS are winning elections since he won in places that we typically do not win. We need to focus on those efforts and why they work and not acting like he has some magic red electoral wall

Additionally, he won because of a election system that rewards losers who win in the right places. We did not play the map right...thats the problem...

[grumpyduck]

28. I went back and read that piece in rawstory again just now

and, as much as it makes sense to me, I think a couple of points were off.

First, the Dunning-Kruger Effect. Azarian says that "Studies have shown that people who lack expertise in some area of knowledge often have a cognitive bias that prevents them from realizing that they lack expertise." I've known people like that, and they can be a pain in the ass to work with. But it's not just the cognitive bias: there's also something there that makes these people bury their head in the sand rather than admit mistakes. I've noticed over and over that some of these people will defend those mistakes until hell freezes over rather than admit they made them. A couple of the places I worked had an abundance of these people. I used to call it "arrogant ignorance."

Second, the Terror Management Theory. Azarian says that "when people are reminded of their own mortality, which happens with fear mongering, they will more strongly defend those who share their worldviews and national or ethnic identity, and act out more aggressively towards those who do not." I haven't read or heard any of Hitler's speeches all the way through, but what I've read indicates that he was preaching a great new Aryan world order rather than fear. I may be wrong here, but it seems his speeches had the effect noted by Azarian without the fearmongering. So maybe fearmongering isn't the only way to get this effect.

I'm mentioning this only because I just finished reading The Founding Fathers Guide to the Constitution by Brion McClanahan, which covers a lot of the discussions at the various state constitutional conventions during the process of ratifying the document. Some of the speeches and comments (and fears and pro and con arguments) made by those folks in the late 1700s sound like they came right out of today's media. Some are seriously creepy, they're so timely. It's worth a read if only to get a sense of what the Framers intended the Constitution to be, and how different some of their intentions were from what's out there today. Azarian's piece really made me think about that book. I'm going to read it again.

[RandomAccess]

33. Sounds like a great book

[Bradshaw3]

34. Good points and info on the book

I want to read it now.

[Gothmog]

30. Trump supporters are idiots and racists

[oberliner]

37. Raw Story steals content from Psychology Today - this was published there in 2016

How do they get away with this BS?

Here's the original:

The Psychology Behind Donald Trump's Unwavering Support
Research explains why Donald Trump maintains support despite shocking behavior.
Posted Sep 13, 2016

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind-in-the-machine/201609/the-psychology-behind-donald-trumps-unwavering-support

[KY_EnviroGuy]

39. Thanks for bringing that link back - I'd lost it.

One of many articles that have helped me achieve a degree of understanding of those with a Republican (or Tory in the UK) type of mindset. I just wish the psychologists would stop calling them "conservative". That's an adulteration of the word when used to describe a trait that a certain fraction of humanity is born with (hypersensitivity to threat). They really need a new descriptive word (perhaps they do but it's not widely published).

Conservative is one of many words Republicans have abused to the point of being useless.

[oberliner]

40. You're welcome

Hopefully people will use that link instead if they want to read the full story.

[colsohlibgal]

38. A Big Part Of It Is Pervasive Right Wing Media

Things started really going downhill since the Fairness Doctrine was lifted. People watching Fox News think that is truth when it is not.

Then there is the Electoral College Scam. Gore would have won, Hillary would have won if we went with the popular vote like everywhere else. He lost by about 3 million votes but that Orange Creep “won”.

[Different Drummer]

42. What he did was he fired up the crazies.

It may be more complicated than that, but that certainly is part of what happened.

[triron]

43. kick for visibility

[Mister Ed]

44. The moral of the story, for Democrats...

...is summed up in the article's final paragraph:

So what can we do to potentially change the minds of Trump loyalists before voting in 2020? As a cognitive neuroscientist, it grieves me to say that there may be nothing we can do. The overwhelming majority of these people may be beyond reach, at least in the short term. The best we can do is to motivate everyone else to get out to the booths and check the box that doesn’t belong to a narcissistic nationalist who has the potential to damage the nation beyond repair.

Put to rest any thought of winning over Trump supporters by trying to appease them, or by trying to ease the economic anxieties that some presume motivated them. They will not be reasoned with, and they will not be won over. They must instead be defeated, overwhelmingly, at the ballot box.

[loyalsister]

46. Pop psychology is not evidence

In this case it seems to be exploitive of the need to claim intellectual superiority. I know many people who have mental illness and people who have intellectual disabilities. Measured psychological impairment was not a predictor. Let's not debase them by trying to turn Trump supporters into members of groups who are smarter and more well adjusted than those trying to claim superiority choose to believe.