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 HagbardCeline
Student-Teacher-Student-Teacher
 
Registered: 05/10/03
Posts: 10,028
Loc: Overjoyed, at the bottom ...
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 Democrats and Republicans both adept at ignoring facts, brain scans show 
#5225026 - 01/26/06 06:43 AM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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Let us all remember this when engaging in debate.
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Political bias affects brain activity, study finds
Democrats and Republicans both adept at ignoring facts, brain scans show
Democrats and Republicans alike are adept at making decisions without letting the facts get in the way, a new study shows.
And they get quite a rush from ignoring information that's contrary to their point of view.
Researchers asked staunch party members from both sides to evaluate information that threatened their preferred candidate prior to the 2004 Presidential election. The subjects' brains were monitored while they pondered.
The results were announced today.
"We did not see any increased activation of the parts of the brain normally engaged during reasoning," said Drew Westen, director of clinical psychology at Emory University. "What we saw instead was a network of emotion circuits lighting up, including circuits hypothesized to be involved in regulating emotion, and circuits known to be involved in resolving conflicts."
Bias on both sides
The test subjects on both sides of the political aisle reached totally biased conclusions by ignoring information that could not rationally be discounted, Westen and his colleagues say.
Then, with their minds made up, brain activity ceased in the areas that deal with negative emotions such as disgust. But activity spiked in the circuits involved in reward, a response similar to what addicts experience when they get a fix, Westen explained.
The study points to a total lack of reason in political decision-making.
"None of the circuits involved in conscious reasoning were particularly engaged," Westen said. "Essentially, it appears as if partisans twirl the cognitive kaleidoscope until they get the conclusions they want, and then they get massively reinforced for it, with the elimination of negative emotional states and activation of positive ones."
Notably absent were any increases in activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain most associated with reasoning.
The tests involved pairs of statements by the candidates, President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry, that clearly contradicted each other. The test subjects were asked to consider and rate the discrepancy. Then they were presented with another statement that might explain away the contradiction. The scenario was repeated several times for each candidate.
FACT FILE Brain scanners
? INTRO
? PET
? fMRI
? EEG/MEG
INTRO
Functional brain imaging helps scientists understand the relationship between particular types of mental activity and particular areas of the brain, by charting which regions experience increased blood flow or metabolism or electromagnetic activity over time. It?s a step beyond CT scans, or CAT scans, which can map the brain?s structure but not its functions. Click on the labels above to learn more about three technologies used for functional brain imaging.
Source: University of Washington, Macalester College, Encarta ? Print this
A brain-scan technique known as functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, revealed a consistent pattern. Both Republicans and Democrats consistently denied obvious contradictions for their own candidate but detected contradictions in the opposing candidate.
"The result is that partisan beliefs are calcified, and the person can learn very little from new data," Westen said.
Other relatively neutral candidates were introduced into the mix, such as the actor Tom Hanks. Importantly, both the Democrats and Republicans reacted to the contradictions of these characters in the same manner.
The findings could prove useful beyond the campaign trail.
"Everyone from executives and judges to scientists and politicians may reason to emotionally biased judgments when they have a vested interest in how to interpret 'the facts,'" Westen said.
The researchers will present the findings Saturday at the Annual Conference of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.
? 2006 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11009379/
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I keep it real because I think it is important that a highly esteemed individual such as myself keep it real lest they experience the dreaded spontaneous non-existance of no longer keeping it real. - Hagbard Celine
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Tao
Village Genius
Registered: 09/19/03
Posts: 7,935
Loc: San Diego
Last seen: 8 years, 10 months
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Re: Democrats and Republicans both adept at ignoring facts, brain scans show [Re: HagbardCeline]
#5225167 - 01/26/06 08:18 AM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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Very cool study, thanks for the link.
Makes perfect sense really, politics for many is much more akin to rooting for the home team than reasoned and open debate.
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Magash's Grain Tek + Tub-in-Tub Incubator + Magash's PMP + SBP Tek + Dunking = Practically all a newbie grower needs 
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nakors_junk_bag
Lobster Bisque
Registered: 11/23/04
Posts: 2,415
Loc: ethereality
Last seen: 15 years, 11 months
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Re: Democrats and Republicans both adept at ignoring facts, brain scans show [Re: Tao]
#5225424 - 01/26/06 10:20 AM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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lol
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Asshole
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 Silversoul
Rhizome
Registered: 01/01/05
Posts: 23,576
Loc: The Barricades
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Re: Democrats and Republicans both adept at ignoring facts, brain scans show [Re: HagbardCeline]
#5225445 - 01/26/06 10:29 AM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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Wow, scientific confirmation of what I've been observing on this forum for years. Good to know.
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