Voting Republican may be a survival response

[Indenturedebtor]

Source: New Scientist

Depending on who you talk to, Sarah Palin is either a hard-talking breath of fresh air or a fear-mongering greenhorn. Now research suggests that such different reactions – and perhaps all political beliefs – might have a basis in biology.

"Traditionally, political scientists have focused on the environmental aspects: school, the media, the family, the church, as the things that lead to beliefs they have," says Douglas Oxley, a political scientist at the University of Nebraska, in Lincoln.

However, his team discovered that social conservatives react more strongly to shocking images and sudden noises by sweating more and blinking harder, compared to liberals. Such innate threat responses point to a biological, and perhaps genetic, basis for our politics, he says.

............

"Liberals will probably say conservatives are scaredy cats," while conservatives might call liberals naive, he says. "The more important point is that people differ".



Read more: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14761-voting-republican-may-be-a-survival-response.html?DCMP=ILC-hmts&nsref=news1_head_dn14761

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More at link.

Though I would use a less delicate term than "scaredy cat". No offense to the ladies in the room but I would call them giant festering puss filled quivering odious *Censored*

[mcctatas]

1. Some say survival response....

some say birth defect;)

"However, his team discovered that social conservatives react more strongly to shocking images and sudden noises by sweating more and blinking harder, compared to liberals. Such innate threat responses point to a biological, and perhaps genetic, basis for our politics, he says."

[KittyWampus]

4. While Republicans are dominated by their reptilian brain, Democrats don't just allow their higher

brain functions to enlighten their behavior. They unfortunately also demonize and ridicule that reptilian brain. It's a part of us to be understood and channeled.

[dbonds]

7. Demonizing the reptilian brain...

That is exactly where 'demons' come from. They are nothing more than primitive urges that we are deep within. It is all a matter of where you move your awareness to: you can move it to the reptilian brain, or you can move it to higher level functions.

[Alcibiades]

19. Monsters from the Id

http://bp0.blogger.com/_FuUFc3ICG74/RsMLYFtf4rI/AAAAAAAAAJg/L97pbDl6AEo/s400/id+monster.jpg

[dbonds]

6. Wild animals react similarly.

[JDPriestly]

25. Sounds like Democrats are more confident.

Could be because we choose more loving social environments. Could be that we choose them because we were more loved as children. That would explain why Republicans perceive us as being idealistic even utopians.

That's very interesting. Could be why they say that Democrats make better lovers. (The love of my life is a Democrat, so I have no comparison and don't want one, but that's what I've heard.)

[cdb]

2. Science? Repugs don't like science and facts and stuff... n/t

[Indenturedebtor]

5. Yeah read some of the responses on that thread hahaha

There is another one that's the "top story" on their home page which is completely unscientific and has been debunked. It's normally an excellent spot for science news though heh.

I knew it though... usually what you hear from pukes in the street is "Im skurred, I need daddy to protect me." Whether daddy is Jesus or someone who claims to hang out with him.

[KittyWampus]

3. It's the reptilian brain. Republicans allow that basal part of our Self to dominate rather

than training it to respond to cues from our Higher Brain.

And those who use symbols to appeal to our baser self are essentially the anti-thesis to everything that spirituality aspires to.

[maxsolomon]

8. but Palin did not blink!

so... she's... a liberal? ;)

[Indenturedebtor]

9. No sorry, she's actually not human

So this whole thing doesn't apply ;)

[Chiyo-chichi]

10. I completely agree that this has a basis in biology.

Those who think Palin is a hard-talking breath of fresh air "ain't hooked up right."

[izquierdista]

11. Survival response??

Survival response is looking for a liferaft, these people are grabbing for an anchor. Just like after 9/11, they rallied around *, dumb as a jackass and stuffed with rice pudding between the ears. Couldn't lead bats out of a cave, even with the cloud of flies around his head full of shit. :dunce:

Deathwish is more like it.

[Indenturedebtor]

12. Deathwish is right. Usually people don't do the right thing when they're terrified

Fear shuts down the brain. That's why all those immigration and 9/11 adds are so effective on the dum dum portion of our population.

[Crunchy Frog]

13. I'm the most chicken person that you will probably ever meet.

I just don't think that the Repukes will make me safer. In fact, they scare the living shit out of me. :shrug:

[CatholicEdHead]

14. Well many are still fighting the USSR in their own way

So, why should things change?

[Indenturedebtor]

15. It's got to be some kind of enemy all the time for these people

"Don't worry you little wussies, your republican daddy will protect you from the *Insert Enemy*." That's all it takes to win their votes.

[nolabels]

16. Friends don't let their friends vote republican

A lot of republicans or would be republicans that i know are often clueless about how things work. They also don't seem to want to know why things are the way they are. This really is the only thing that really concerns me very much.

Trying to put them into some box because of some particular aspect seems kind of a mistake too (but i guess it will always still go one :shrug: )

[yodermon]

17. Republicans were more likely to have been abused as children, which

leads to an "atrophied" hippocampus and amygdala. This is what can lead to such increased fear reactions.

(note i'm NOT saying that everyone with increased fear reactions has necessarily been abused as a child).

http://www.minnesotamedicine.com/PastIssues/March2006/ClinicalMcCollumMarch2006/tabid/2369/Default.aspx

Child Maltreatment and Brain Development

Brain Development
An infant’s brain is equipped with an overabundance of neurons, synaptic potential, and dendrites. DNA is responsible for early brain development. But after birth, experience helps to determine which neurons will persist, which synapses will develop and become permanent, and which connections will take prominence or be subdued. Myelination, formation of the protective sheath surrounding nerve fibers, continues throughout childhood and, in some areas of the brain, into the third decade of life. This process establishes final, permanent linkages within the brain structures.14

The limbic system is the part of the brain most vulnerable to adverse childhood experiences. The system is made up of the amygdala, hippocampus, cingulate gyrus, thalamus, hypothalamus, and putamen. Related structures include the cerebellar vermis, prefrontal cortex, and visual and parietal cortex. The limbic system is responsible for the generation and control or inhibition of emotions. It is also involved in interpreting facial expressions and evaluating danger, is responsible for the fight-or-flight response to stress, and integrates emotional reactions and connects them with the physical response. Various components are also involved in memory, both implicit and explicit, and in learning (Table).

Brain Sequelae
Stress initiates a series of hormonal responses in the limbic system. The initial response to stress or danger is activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal (HPA) axis. This occurs in the locus coeruleus and the sympathetic nervous system, causing a release of the hormones norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine. The amygdala reacts to this hormone release and, in turn, stimulates the hypothalamus to release corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF). CRF, itself, acts as both a hormone, to stimulate adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) secretion, and as a neurotransmitter, affecting areas of the cortex that are involved in executive functioning (eg, motivation, planning, and logic).15 Increasing ACTH secretion then leads to elevated glucocorticoids (cortisol). High levels of glucocorticoids have been shown to negatively affect the hippocampus, resulting in decreased dendritic branching, changes in synaptic terminal structure, and neuronal loss.16 A feedback mechanism in the hypothalamus and the hippocampus normally brings these levels back to their resting state.

If this process occurs repeatedly, CRF and glucocorticoids remain elevated, which eventually causes structural changes in the brain and impedes the feedback mechanism, leading to an imbalance in hormones and dysregulation of the HPA axis.17

[Indenturedebtor]

21. Great and timely post - this same mechanism is strongly implicated in PTSD as well

It doesn't only have to happen in childhood.

Depression also effects the hippocampus and other structures in similar ways though through different pathways.

[Jamastiene]

23. That makes sense.

There is definitely something wrong with a lot of them. They are just sooo reactionary and always seem to be in "fight" mode.

[pipi_k]

18. Well they're either wrong, or

I'm an exception to the rule

And so are about a hundred other anxiety-riddled people I used to communicate with on a support board

I knew anxiety/panic disorder sufferers who were among the most strongly reacting people I've ever seen...including myself. Startle response? You want startle response? I can jump out of my skin most of the time....but anyway, perhaps 98% of those people were Liberals.


There were some things I did find that Liberals and Conservatives (on this particular support board) had in common with their groups...

Liberals seemed to be much more literate than Conservatives. They read...a LOT. They could put sentences together in comprehensible ways. They seemed to possess the ability to see the world, and many issues, in terms of "gray areas", and deal with conflicting thoughts and feelings without self-destructing. They were not overly religious.


The Conservative folks, OTOH, were the complete opposite...none of them read very much...they could NOT see the world, or many issues, in terms other than black and white...either/or. They were afflicted with blind faith. It just seemed like they...ordinary people...weren't too bright most of the time. Too willing to be led around...too lazy to check out facts, and when presented with facts, too willing to deny those facts were true. I honestly got to thinking that NeoCon Republicanism must be an actual mental disorder not linked to survival.


I think there's a huge difference between NeoCon Average Joes and NeoCon politicians and media hacks...

the politicians and hacks ARE more intelligent...

which makes them filthy whoring pigs in my book because they're making money off the ignorance of the common people.

[freeplessinseattle]

24. no worries, it's not a rule, just a tendency & coping response

just speculation anyway. There's no "rule" at all, just an interesting result from an experiment.
If you venture beyond the main discussion areas on this board you will see there is plenty of support for those of us who suffer from anxiety and depression. That is part of how we cope, whereas if we were Repug we might have a greater tendency to cope in less constructive ways.

[Alcibiades]

20. I don't think it's fear, per se, but anxiety

It seems to be a common denominator among the Republicans I talk to. They may cope with it differently, but most seem to have a lot of anxiety.

[Indenturedebtor]

22. Why was this moved from LBN? I don't understand? n/t

[4_TN_TITANS]

26. giant festering puss filled quivering odious *Censored*

ewww :scared: that description made me sweat and blink!

But I would take the explanation further. It's not that liberals don't recognize danger, we recognize true dangers, even abstract dangers. We know that a picture is no cause for a fear response for christ's sake.