Study: American Liberals and Conservatives Think as if From Different Cultures

[applegrove]

Study: American Liberals and Conservatives Think as if From Different Cultures

by Fariss Samarra

https://news.virginia.edu/content/study-american-liberals-and-conservatives-think-if-different-cultures

"SNIP................


Political conservatives in the United States are somewhat like East Asians in the way they think, categorize and perceive. Liberals in the U.S. could be categorized as extreme Americans in thought, categorization and perception. That is the gist of a new University of Virginia cultural psychology study, published recently in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Additionally, the study indicates that thought styles – whether analytical or holistic – can be changed through training, enough so to temporarily change political thought and the way a person might vote.

“We found in our study that liberals and conservatives think as if they were from completely different cultures – almost as different as East and West,” said study leader Thomas Talhelm, a U.Va. doctoral candidate in cultural psychology. “Liberals and conservatives categorize and perceive things differently, just as East Asians and Westerners look differently at the world.”

According to Talhelm, political conservatives in the United States, generally, and East Asians, particularly, are intuitive or “holistic” thinkers, while Westerners, generally, and American liberals, in particular, are more analytical thinkers.



.................SNIP"

[yourout]

1. Most middle/lower class Republicans let their need to blame someone beneth them blind them to....

the fact that the 1%ers are robbing them in a thousand ways.

They are getting their pockets picked and they are completely oblivious to it.

[hifiguy]

8. Hell, they cheer it on

and open their pockets wider. They're that damned dumb.

[Populist_Prole]

11. Well said

I see it every day.

Lots of gut feelings trumping critical thinking. Would rather sink with a fire in their belly than swim with an uncomfortable truth. They need strength in like-minded groups; the ultimate bubble denizens.

For all their gut/holistic feelings, they have the nerve to characterize liberals as "touchy-feely" sorts. Projection? Not really. They just ape what their handlers say.

[forest444]

2. Conservatives are "intuitive or 'holistic' thinkers" ?

These are the new PC euphemisms for 'presumptuous and dense', I take it.

[winter is coming]

3. So conservatives think from their gut. Colbert must be grinning. n/t

[forest444]

4. Well, that would explain most of what comes out of them.

[3catwoman3]

5. How interesting.

It sure does feel that way.

[bbgrunt]

6. I don't believe that is true for me. I would

expect there is a lot of variation and would hesitate to make such generalizations without knowing more about how strong of a correlation they found.

[applegrove]

7. Not true for me either but then I am dyslexic and excel at

big picture thinking. And the big picture tells me that humanity does great things when it is well informed. Humans can adapt to almost any climate providing they have the best information available to them at the time. The GOP leadership know this too which is why they try and keep Americans stupid....so that they and the 1% are the only ones to thrive. They don't like competeting with the well informed for resources........AND REALITY IS A RESOURCE TO THEM BECAUSE IT MEANS POWER, or lack there of.

[Igel]

19. Most of these studies collapse.

They get their conclusions by defining their terms just right and then testing to see if their terms match the results predicted by their definitions of terms.

Thing is, the definitions are sometimes a bit strange, and the tests based on a particular viewpoint. Seldom are the results of these studies at odds with what researchers would say is positive about themselves. Mostly, if you take the methodology and apply it in a way that doesn't yield the "right" results, the methodology itself is then flawed, or the statistical analysis is inappropriate.

Every time I've had a heated debate with somebody on the "other side" of the fence--whatever that meant at the time--we came down to having no real fundamental difference, but a difference in what was more important or how to achieve the goals. Sometimes there was perhaps one or two fundamental differences in values, but those were at extremes--things like when one person held that all private property was immoral (when that happened, though, some property--typically the amount he actually wanted--was perfectly okay, it was when people had more than he thought he'd get that it was immoral).

There were some more common generalities, and often those dealt with concepts of honor (personal or external) or views on how useful tradition was.

[Rex]

9. The GOP intuitive? Failsauce.

American Conservatives(tm) are fundamentalist assholes that like to destroy more than create. They are concrete thinkers with no ability to use abstract reasoning or thought.

Foxnews has rotted most of their brains.

Real progressives actually use abstract thought are good at critical thinking and have far more empathy.

[applegrove]

10. It is because they use emotion in their thinking that they

can be so easily manipulated. The first thing a psychopath does is attack your gut. There are actual neurons in your gut. Who knew! And victims of psychopaths often complain of gastritis. Before 'their thinking changes'. So I can well believe the GOP base thinks mostly intuitively. And why that makes them easily manipulated.

[lumberjack_jeff]

13. They operate entirely from faith, intuition and bias.

They literally cannot tolerate ambiguity.

[BrotherIvan]

16. +1

I think the word "intuition" was incorrect. I think they meant "conditioning." And you are quite correct that the authoritarian follower quite literally cannot tolerate ambiguity or going against authority. They cannot analyze and come to a conclusion and instead must repeat the messages that have been fed to them. They can, however, defy logic and hold two diametrically opposed thoughts at the same time and not see that is completely illogical.

Also interesting is that the article states that this way of thinking is manufactured. As indeed conservatives know and that is why they have created an authoritarian factory if you will of churches, school, news and entertainment. They only have to keep them in the sheltered conservative worldview until about 25 and then that way of thinking is set in stone.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

12. This is one reason Conservatives are flipping out....

Everything they believe is a total fiction and it's falling apart.

Example: It wasn't that long ago when they acted like the #1 issue was gay marriage. The Republicans RAN on it claiming gays getting married would destroy marriage for everyone. This was a FACT in their world.

[lumberjack_jeff]

15. They don't flip out to the degree that they re-evaluate their opinions in light of new facts. n/t

[Spitfire of ATJ]

21. And admit they're wrong?

Rule #1 with Conservatives: NEVER admit you are wrong.

[BrotherIvan]

17. That is why liberals have said for a long time that conservatives are digging their own graves

Look at Jeb's stance on immigration giving him so much heat. I still think he will be the Republican nominee, but they do have this very reactionary base to deal with now and it is much harder to change the message. They can no longer attract huge swaiths of the electorate such as women and any race beyond white male, and they are trying very unsuccessfully to adapt, but the fanatics won't let them. And so they are unable mathematically to win the presidency. They created the damn monster, so let it eat them.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

20. I'm stocking up on popcorn for when they go 100% anti-woman.

[BrotherIvan]

22. I think they already have

I honestly don't know what they could do or say or do that could make it worse. A lesser cut of meat? The anti-immigration furor is really gonna heat up soon.

[Unknown Beatle]

14. The GOP is reactionary.

Intuitive? Not so much.

[stillwaiting]

18. Is that "intuitive" thinking = to Colbert's truthiness aka right from the gut?!?!

I. Think. So. !!

I love how the right-wing always says that the left-wing is guilty of emotional thinking. Facts never matter to a right-winger. They already KNOW what's going on.

Conservatives are so easy for the robber barons to manipulate. They are Jay Gould's army that's for sure.