Are political views "hard-wired" in the brain?

[dicksbro]

Saw this article referenced on the Yahoo home page this morning and thought it was interesting ...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070909/hl_afp/scienceneuroscience_070909173324

[Oldfart]

Nurture v Nature?

[Steph]

I was hoping it would address the old quote, "If you're not liberal when you're young, you have no heart. If you're not conservative when you're older, you have no brain."

[jseal]

dicksbro,

Very interesting! A good read.

[LixyChick]

I don't know what to think about the article.

The example of breaking from routine on a ride home from work due to road work wouldn't have worked on me. No matter my political affiliate, it scares the bejeesus out of me when I have to detour. I would have set the electroencephalographs off their rocker with my reaction. What good would that have done for the test? I have certain fears and one of them is getting lost. And, if while taking the test, they had put a wasp in the car with me when I hit the detour sign...OMG!

I guess my point is...there could be many different reasons for reactions in circumstances beyond our control.

Just my thought on it!

[scotzoidman]

I was hoping it would address the old quote, "If you're not liberal when you're young, you have no heart. If you're not conservative when you're older, you have no brain."
I had a similar thought as well...maybe they did address it, just didn't take the that road for further exploration.

[wyndhy]

i need more info. could be lotsa factors. age, income, marraige, no o kids, breakfast that morning, whether you had to pee .. etc, etc, etc.

this said it best, at the very end, in one of the shortest paragraphs of the article:

Obscuring causal links even more is the fact that the brain is malleable and neural functions can change as a result of new experiences

doi.

[Lilith]

I am on the brain research committee this year and find studies like this so interesting. You can see traits like those described in your learners as well. There are students who have to have a set formula/procedure for the way to solve Math for instance, and then there are others who look for as many ways possible to solve the same problem. Whether or not the answer is correct is often secondary to the path taken to get there for some.

[WildIrish]

I am on the brain research committee this year and find studies like this so interesting.



Looks like I won't be getting a visit from Lilith again this year. :(

[wyndhy]

i'm still giggling at "the brain research committee" :D