BS: And THIS is your brain on Politics!

Subject: BS: And THIS is your brain on Politics!
From: Mrrzy
Date: 07 Sep 11 - 06:04 PM

Relevant quote from the intro to a most fascinating article that popped up on my "brain science" news watchdog, any nitpicks mine:

Recent converging studies are showing that liberals tend to have a larger and/or more active anterior cingulate cortex, or ACC—useful in detecting and judging conflict and error—and conservatives are more likely to have an enlarged amygdala, where the development and storage of emotional memories takes place***. More than one study has shown these same results, which is why I felt it was worth investigating.
A few questions to keep in mind: If these differences do legitimately exist, how can—or better yet—how should we use this knowledge? How can insight gained from research of this kind prove helpful in the quest for more effective communication across party lines? Can empathy and understanding of personality differences, without judgments or stereotyping, aid in the productivity of political debates around topics such as climate change or *evolution?


***Mrr's clarification: the amygdala adds whichever emotion makes the memory worth forming in the first place into the memory formation
*There is no debate around evolution among educated persons. The human role in climate change is, on the other hand, still up for grabs

Anyway, it's a really, really interesting topic not yet under lively debate on this here forum, and it raises a question...

...which links to another fun fun thread...

...does arguing from the right *make* your amygdala bigger as you rely for longer on the emotional value of your memories in making arguments, and arguing from the left *make* your ACC grow ...

...OR...

...Do your various brain parts, as they form embryonically, predispose us to a scale from more of one to more of the other, with a lot of same-same in between, of favoring input from emotion or from judgment-based-on-error-detection, which I'll call JUDE, by making these different structures differ in relative size through humanity?

... which if so, leads us to the idea that it is adaptive for us to vary along that spectrum. Learn to love your reactionary neighbors, without them, we socialists wouldn't be so great!

(The wolf, after all, is what keeps the caribou strong...)

And since they went comparing two sides of a question and got a two-sided answer...

maybe it isn't a spectrum from Emotion to Logic, but placement on a 3-D grid of Emotion, Logic, and... likely candidates? Conscience, maybe?

In my families, we think of it this way:
Athos = Logos (logic) = Mr. Spock
Porthos = Pathos (emotion) = Dr. McCoy
Aramis= Ethos (doing the right thing) = Capt. Kirk

And THEN you know what we get??!? With the XYZ spectrum-like (spectral?) coordinates, and the limits outside which it doesn't work (too selfish = nobody shares with you in time of famine = you! Out of the gene pool!), and all?

I will wait for other posters before I say what!

Subject: RE: BS: And THIS is your brain on Politics!
From: Paul G.
Date: 07 Sep 11 - 06:33 PM

Well I think that this bit from the article sums up the core issues pretty well, if they hold up to further scrutiny:

"So, when faced with an ambiguous situation, conservatives would tend to process the information initially with a strong emotional response. This would make them less likely to lean towards change, and more likely to prefer stability. Stability means more predictability, which means more expected outcomes, and less of a trigger for anxiety.
Liberals, though, tend toward unpredictability. They don't mind change, and in fact, they prefer it. They seek it out. This personality type would likely choose "change" over "stability" just because they tend to be more novelty-seeking by nature. The fact that they have a more prominent ACC helps them to deal with radically changing situations, still find the salient points, all without the emotion getting in the way. These individuals are the compartmentalizers, the logic-driven ones, while the conservatives are the ones driven by emotion and empathy."

Stability versus change. Stagnation verus evolution? Equipoise? Hmmmm... time to think about it.

Subject: RE: BS: And THIS is your brain on Politics!
From: Mrrzy
Date: 07 Sep 11 - 07:20 PM

Above emphasis should have read:

...input from emotion or from judgment-based-on-error-detection, which I'll call JUDE...

Subject: RE: BS: And THIS is your brain on Politics!
From: Mrrzy
Date: 07 Sep 11 - 07:47 PM

Ok I can't stand it it's the CHAOS BUTTERFLY! wOO HOO!

Subject: RE: BS: And THIS is your brain on Politics!
From: Mrrzy
Date: 08 Sep 11 - 12:30 PM

Refresh

Come on catters, this could be a fun thread!