Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Science: Conservatives use their brains differently from Liberals.

Discovery News excerpt from scientists studying the brains of Democrats / liberals and Republicans / conservatives:

"Republicans showed more activity than Democrats in the right amygdala when making a risky decision. This brain region is important for processing fear, risk and reward
Meanwhile, Democrats showed more activity in the left posterior insula, a portion of the brain responsible for processing emotions, particularly visceral emotional cues from the body. The particular region of the insula that showed the heightened activity has also been linked with "theory of mind," or the ability to understand what others might be thinking. 
While their brain activity differed, the two groups' behaviors were identical, the study found."
Obviously I'm just touching the surface of the article.  Maybe you didn't catch it though, but Republicans use a part of their Right side of the brain, while Democrats use the Left side of the brain.  Funny, right?

Click through and read the original post in Live Science.  There's more in it (and further links) including this little jewel:
"Recent investigations into the psychology of liberals and conservatives have found a number of subtle differences, from conservatives exhibiting more squeamishness to liberals paying less attention to negative stimuli or threats."

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