Series of studies show: Low-Effort Thought Promotes Political Conservatism

[TalkingDog]

http://psp.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/03/16/0146167212439213

The authors test the hypothesis that low-effort thought promotes political conservatism. In Study 1, alcohol intoxication was measured among bar patrons; as blood alcohol level increased, so did political conservatism (controlling for sex, education, and political identification). In Study 2, participants under cognitive load reported more conservative attitudes than their no-load counterparts. In Study 3, time pressure increased participants’ endorsement of conservative terms. In Study 4, participants considering political terms in a cursory manner endorsed conservative terms more than those asked to cogitate; an indicator of effortful thought (recognition memory) partially mediated the relationship between processing effort and conservatism. Together these data suggest that political conservatism may be a process consequence of low-effort thought; when effortful, deliberate thought is disengaged, endorsement of conservative ideology increases.

/snip

or... Why going to college tends to turn you into a liberal.

[the other one]

1. Alchohol increases conservatism...but cannabis increases liberalism

Thus the war on drugs is explained.

[daleo]

2. Low effort thought and low thought effort

That about sums up conservativism for me.

[sudopod]

3. I've heard conservative thought compared to what AI researchers call an "expert system"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expert_system

An expert system answers questions posed to it by evaluating a series of IF - THEN statements, comparing the situation at hand to it's inbuilt knowledge, until it reaches a conclusion.

Conservative thought tends to operate the same way. The knowledge base is made up of religious and ideological beliefs that have been insufficiently vetted against reality. New information is automatically filtered through this "expert" system. It allows them to come to a position on something they've never heard of in seconds, and they will never waver from it as long as their religion and ideology are fixed, since those are the filter.

It makes the need for real thinking about a problem unnecessary to daily functioning as long as the conflicts between ideology, religion, and reality aren't immediately fatal.

[rfranklin]

4. I thoroughly enjoy beer and wine on a regular basis and it definitely has no conservative effect...

I suspect that right wingers just feel freer to express their retrogressive ideas when drunk.

[ThoughtCriminal]

5. Beer Goggles

When you wear them, conservative ideas look attractive. Oh, but then there's all that regret the next morning.