jillio

What if it isn't? You are being too literal. The brain differnces are the result of a difference in the way one thinks about and perceives the world around them. That way of thnking and perceiving is consistent across many domains, not just the political domain. It just happens that the political domain is one in which the consisitencies can be easily demonstrated.

Deafness

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DeafBadger

Hmm. That is a good point.

I think a person's culture has more influence though. Take the issue of animal rights. There are people who believe that hunting is absolutely wrong and consider it "murder." Then there are some people who hunt and don't see anything wrong with it.

I don't think it is a coincidence that the former opinion tends to be held more by urban dwellers who are insulated from country life. And that the latter opinion tends to be held by those who are located closer to the rural environment.

Same thing with perceptions about where food comes from. Growing up, I helped my aunt and uncle butcher chickens on their farm. I have no illusions about where the food on my table comes from. Yet, I'm continually taken aback by people who have no idea where their food comes from. Some of these people will take positions on whether it is wrong or right to harvest animals.

Likewise, people from rural areas can often be very naive about big city life. They can have a lot of misconceptions about it. For example, where I live, people perceive Minneapolis metropolitan area to be an extraordinarily dangerous place to be. All that crime! But I know people who live there and I will probably eventually move there myself. I've traveled there many times. It has never struck me as extraordinarily dangerous. "Keep your wits about you," perhaps, but not "Here there be dragons," dangerous.

I bet if those same people who have these perceptions would have grown up in the other place, they would no longer hold those views.

A person's experiences, the cultural soup they were raised in and current live in, the variety of stuff they read and think about (or don't read and think about), seems to me better predictors of political orientation.

But I have to admit, your argument that there could be hard-wired political tendencies for politics as there are for various aptitudes is a reasonable one.

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deafskeptic

I was referring to the Soviet Union's totalitarian approach to the arts and pretty much every thing else. It certainly showed even after Glasnost.

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Beach girl

Leftist brains, then?

jillio

However, you do process information and demonstrate the cognitive functioning that would support the greater volume in the ACC. So even if you don't identify yourself politically as a "liberal", you still have the brain that is evident in those who do identify as liberal. And the consistencies are evident in your world view as expressed on many topics here.

Beowulf

Yep, those fear-laden few in power had their way with the folk, didn't they?

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jillio

Nope. You are right on target.

Beowulf

Hardly.

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DeafBadger

Well, you have a good point. But everyone in a cultural paradigm is expected to adhere to an acceptable range of political opinion. This is culturally defined. In the meta-culture like the "nation of America", and in the micro-culture like regions, states, religions, political ideologies, professions, etc within the nation of America.

(These are not scientific terms I'm using, I'm just explaining my opinion and perspective.

So if you say that someone has a tendency towards one political orientation or another, it is still within that culturally defined range. Go to a different country or different tribe, and you might have a very different culturally defined range.

It's not the tendency one way or another that's most important. It's the range of accepted opinion defined by the cultural soup.

IMO.

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deafskeptic

They were the conservatives of Soviet Union - not the liberals - too.

However, I think it would be much more accurate to say they were extremely authoritarian in their thinking. The authoritarian left and the right have much in common when one thinks about it.

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jillio

Uh, no.

Beowulf

So you think tendencies are entirely inconsequential? In the long run, their results will be seen, don't you think? Opinion forming may work for a while, but the tendencies are still there.

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jillio

Culture certainly has an impact, but if it were the greatest impact, we would see all individuals reacting the same given the same cultural experience. It is this variance in reaction to, understanding of, and categorizing that experience that can be explained by differences in the structure of the brain. Culture most certainly can impact the brain and the way that we think, perceive, and process. But the brain also governs how the individual reacts to that cultural experience. Twin studies done in various areas of psychological reseach supports that.

DeafBadger

No, I didn't say they are inconsequential. I'm saying they appear (in my meager personal observations) to function within the range of politics or opinion the culture defines.

For example, mainstream Christianity could be plotted on a range from, say, Southern Baptist to Episcopalian. This entire range is "Christian," yet people within this range will consider others to be "to the right" or "to the left". You could say that "tendencies" express themselves within this range.

But to people outside the Christian culture, the entire range seems conservative to them. Or to me, anyway. But people within the culture don't see it that way. They are expressing their tendencies within the defined range.

Same thing with other cultures.

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KarissaMann05

But, to me, it look like liberals are "winners".

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DeafBadger

Hmm. I see your point.

I'm not saying that I know anything about the stuff, by any means.

I have to crash for now and get sleep for tomorrow. I'll pick up this thread later.

Good night, all!

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jillio

There is a conservative religious perspective that transcends even the conservative Christiam perspective. How many religious conservatives do you know that are liberal politically? See what I mean? That consevative thought process is consistent across domains regardless of cultural consistency. Cultural consistency is more of a group phenomena, while the differences leading to a conservative thought process across domains is an individual phenomena.

Beach girl

Are you denying that the former Soviet Union was to the extreme left of the political spectrum?

jillio

Thanks for participating in the discussion!

deafskeptic

I'm afraid you're being a bit literal.

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jillio

The extreme left of whose political spectrum? You are talking about a completely different political system that the U.S.

KarissaMann05

'Likes' on my post, eh? Hmm... I suppose that I am one of those "losers". Eh.

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jillio

Reba

OK, the topic of this thread is "Brain differences in political orientation." I'm asking, how do the brain differences manifest themselves in countries where they have no, one, or several political parties? You explained how it manifests in a two-party system such as America has. So please explain how it manifests in countries that have fewer or more parties than America has.

Beowulf

I took an oath never to use the like button. Otherwise...

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Steinhauer

She is playing with you.

It is "sexual orientation".

jillio

Just because they do not have the same political system that we do does not mean that within their own system they do not have conservative orientations and liberal orientations. You are referring to culture bound group phenomena. You will still see the same individual differences.

deafskeptic

I was pointing out that the Soviet Union powers that be behaves much like the far right would like to govern the USA by dictate what what to worship (no separation of God and State) or ( not to worship) and they certainly feared being invaded.

And the Soviets had a great fear of dissent from within. Just witness the KBG and the Stalinist purges . As for America, Edgar J. Hoover certainly rings a bell for many here in the USA. We had no purges? The Japanese-Americans during the 40s and the Native Americans would beg to differ.

It's not so much the ideologies that matter. It's our response to our world that matter. Extreme examples of authorianism has always been a concern to me whatever the idealogies are.

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jillio

Thanks for supporting the reseach.

This has nothing to do with sexual orientation. But again, it is not surprising that you would be confusing the two. In fact, it could be predicted.

Beach girl

"How many religious conservatives do you know that are liberal politically?"

Plenty, actually. Look at the large number of Catholics who consistently vote Democrat.

Catholic Democrats