| re: Nervous people 'are likely to be right-wing' | |
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Posted by: |
JimmyG 11:49 pm UTC 09/21/08 |
| In reply to: | re: Nervous people 'are likely to be right-wing' - steven_stuart 11:07 pm UTC 09/21/08 |
I generally agree with you - just curious about any reactions... However, w.r.t Palin, the way that a person presents oneself extrinsically may be not identical to intrinsic reactions...a good actor can get away with almost anything. It would have been interesting to know Palin's reactions in the experiment described below since they measured reactions which a person can not (easily) control and may not be seen on a TV camera... > Sarah Palin doesn't look very nervous to me. Have you seen > her hunting photographs? I want Obama to win but I don't > think anything would scare Palin. The survey investigated > only 46 people. I think they should have used a much > larger study group. > > > > > > > http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/nervous-people-are-likely-to-be-rightwing-935417.html > > > > People who are easily startled by loud bangs or gruesome > > pictures are more likely to vote for right-wing policies > > compared to calmer people who take a more liberal approach > > to life, according to a psychological study of political > > beliefs. > > > > The findings support the idea that personality type > > influences political attitude, which could explain why > > voting differences appear to be entrenched. "Although > > political views have been thought to arise largely from > > individuals' experiences, recent research suggests a > > possible biological basis. We present evidence that > > variations in political attitudes correlate with > > psychological traits," said John Hibbing of the University > > of Nebraska-Lincoln. > > > > The study, published in the journal Science, investigated > > 46 Americans with strong opinions spanning the political > > spectrum who were tested for their physiological responses > > to a range of visually threatening pictures and loud > > noises. > > > > "Subjects with measurably lower physical sensitivities to > > sudden noises and threatening images were more likely to > > support foreign aid, liberal immigration policies, > > pacifism and gun control," Dr Hibbing said. > > > > "Whereas individuals displaying measurably higher > > physiological reactions to those same stimuli were more > > likely to favour defence spending, capital punishment, > > patriotism and the Iraq war," he said. Physiological > > responses that were monitored included the electrical > > conductivity of the skin – measuring sweat production – > > and the amount of eye-blinking after a loud noise. Such > > responses are not under conscious control and are > > considered good indicators of a person's overall nervous > > disposition. > > > > They were shown three threatening images – a large spider > > on a frightened face, a dazed individual covered in blood > > and an open wound filled with maggots – interspersed with > > neutral images and three non-threatening images, such as a > > bowl of fruit and a happy child. > > > > The scientists believe the findings support the belief > > that political attitudes reflect the way a person deals > > with potential threats. "Consequently, our research > > provides one possible explanation for both the lack of > > malleability in the beliefs of individuals with strong > > political convictions and for the associated ubiquity of > > political conflict," they said. | |
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