Brain Differences Found Between Democrats and Republicans

According to an L.A. Times article by Denise Gellene entitled "Study finds left-wing brain, right-wing brain," a scientific study from New York University and UCLA shows definite differences in how Republicans and Democrats process information. According to the article, "Previous psychological studies have found that conservatives tend to be more structured and persistent in their judgments whereas liberals are more open to new experiences. The latest study found those traits are not confined to political situations but also influence everyday decisions." Participants of the study were college students with political affiliations ranging from "very liberal" to "very conservative." They were instructed to look at a monitor and tap a button when the letter "M" appeared and refrain from tapping the button when the letter "W" appeared. The letter "M" appeared four times as often as did the letter "W." (The study was then repeated with the frequency of the letters reversed). This conditioned the participants to press the button in a "knee-jerk" fashion whenever they saw a letter. Each participant was wired with an electroencephalograph that recorded activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, the part of the brain that detects conflicts between a habitual tendency (pressing a key) and a more appropriate response (not pressing the key).Liberals had more brain activity in this area and made fewer mistakes when they saw "W" than did conservatives. In other words, when they saw something new and out of the ordinary, they knew how to handle it more appropriately than did conservatives. Conservatives were equally likely as liberals to recognize and respond to "M." When the frequency of the letters was reversed, researchers got the same results.Data analysis shows that liberals are about 5 times as likely as conservatives to show brain activity in the areas of the brain related to detecting conflicts between habitual tendency and a more appropriate response. Liberals are also more than twice as likely to score in the top half of the distribution for accuracy.Simply put, liberals tend to think much more than conservatives before acting, whereas conservatives tend to be much more habitual and conforming to established traditions. David Amodio, an assistant professor of psychology at New York University, cautioned that the study looked at a narrow range of human behaviors, and that it would be a mistake to conclude that one political orientation is better than another. The tendency of conservatives to block distracting information may be a good thing, depending on the situation. He still acknowledged that a meeting of the minds between the two looked difficult given the study results. "Does this mean liberals and conservatives are never going to agree?" Amodio asked. "Maybe it suggests one reason why they tend not to get along." Referenced article here: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-politics10sep10,1,5376455.story?ctrack=1&cset=true