"One might believe it’s just a matter of making a persuasive argument, loaded with empirical facts and sound logic, articulated with perfect clarity. This is what the left-wing media often believes, and we have seen how successful that strategy has been — Donald Trump is as influential as ever.

But what if I told you that our neural wiring determines whether we have the ability to change our minds? What if I told you that science suggests conservatives, who are extremely likely to be voting for Trump this election, generally have more rigid cognitive systems, which means they are less adaptable, and therefore, less likely to adopt a new framework or perspective when their approach fails?

A seminal study by social psychologist David Amodio and colleagues at New York University suggests that the typical conservative is not likely to be convinced by something as simple as a logically persuasive argument. For some conservatives, it's like asking them to change the color of their eyes. A progressive worldview cannot pierce their psyche because being dogmatic is programmed into the fabric of that worldview. It is not just that they are “stubborn”; their brains are actually wired to resist things that are new and different. So, you could say they lack “free will” when it comes to their voting decision. When we speak of free will in a modern sense, we are talking about the personal agency that enables one to override ingrained biases and consider alternative perspectives.

To understand the implications of this study, we must voyage into the realm of neuroscience, where secrets of the mind await discovery. The ERN, which stands for “error related negativity,” is a spike in brain activity that is triggered when we commit an error. It serves as a kind of internal alert system within our brain, signaling when a mistake has been made. It emerges in the brain region known as the anterior cingulate cortex, which helps us navigate situations where established patterns or behaviors are ineffective and require adjustment. For example, if a person is learning to play a musical instrument and hits a wrong note, the ERN might spike, prompting them to correct their finger positioning and playing style. Over time, as they practice and adapt, the frequency of these ERN spikes will decrease, indicating improved proficiency and fewer mistakes.

Armed with a knowledge of the nature of the ERN, Dr. Amodio and colleagues ventured into the terrain of politics. Their highly-cited 2007 study revealed an illuminating connection between one's political orientation and the intensity of the ERN response. What they found was that participants with liberal views exhibited a more pronounced ERN. This suggests they have a heightened sensitivity to error signals, indicating a cognitive system that acknowledges the need for adjustments in perspective and strategy. Essentially, when their established behavioral patterns were shown to be incorrect or suboptimal, their brains signaled more intensely for an adaptive response. From these findings, we can conclude that progressive-minded individuals possess a neural predisposition for recognizing the need for change and growth.



Conservatives, on the other hand, exhibited a smaller ERN. This suggests that their cognitive system is more resistant to signals advocating for change or reconsideration. We can think of this as a neural reflection of their preference for stability, tradition and consistency. The typical conservative voter’s mental landscape, sculpted by a combination of genetics and indoctrinating experiences, values the familiar and reliable. Established norms and long-held beliefs provide a safe harbor in the face of a changing society and an uncertain future. It's a mindset where radical shifts or sudden upheavals are perceived not as opportunities but threats to a delicate equilibrium. Conservatism is essentially a neurocognitive inclination aimed at preserving the status quo.

So, what are we supposed to take away from these results? Does it mean there’s no hope for shifting anyone’s stances this election?

One might reasonably conclude that we should simply focus on getting all those already on our ideological side to turn out to the polls on voting day.

But using that strategy alone is risky. We should not give up hope in spreading a progressive worldview, because resistance to change and evolution eventually leads to societal collapse. History has unequivocally demonstrated that. Adaptivity is the key to individual and collective survival. This means we have an ethical obligation to be evangelists for progress and sensible change. This will require a bit of social engineering and some creativity.

No-one?

That is not what the paper says at all.

Conservatives find it very hard to change their mind.

mothra wrote on Oct 16^th, 2023 at 12:57pm:


Cares

Jovial Monk wrote on Oct 16^th, 2023 at 1:13pm:


Not at all. We Conservatives originally thought you might be sane. We quickly changed our mind once we saw your inability to change your insanity driven tosspottery.

mothra wrote on Oct 16^th, 2023 at 12:57pm:



Well, Aborigines must be the most inflexible conservatives then - they kept everything totally unchanged for 40,000 years.

The Bbwianesque brain science news is in: "Aborigines had the world's oldest continuously conservative, totally inflexible culture.

Lisa Jones wrote on Oct 16^th, 2023 at 1:19pm:


Once upon a time leftists were sane most of them have changed Setanta would be an exception. They objected to government making decions that weren't supported by facts protested against censorhip communism etc.

Today they accept lies and misinformation lockdowns vaccine mandates what happened to my body my choice and government over reach as we saw with covid. They call for people to be censored and cancelled if they don't go along with their idiocy and as we saw recently hurl slurs like racist stupid and dickhead to anyone who dares to have a different opinion.

This is why i am no longer a leftist and a proud centrist.

Well…Mothra….. That was a an interesting read, and from a social viewpoint, it puts some people (mainly in my area that are older, more traditional or set in their ways) as what I always thought were hard headed 
Even my own mother… she even had a fridge magnet “My mind’s made up, don’t confuse me with the facts”
I always thought I was too easily swayed as I struggled to make up my mind at times.
My dad was a progressive, my mum a conservative. Hence why they clashed and fought a lot?

I can now see this conservative mind set as a type of security living within their set safe boundaries. Almost like prisoners in their own minds.
My dad would say they were like wombats, walk the same line, sleep in the same hole, and shyte at the same stump.
So I’m a progressive! I always felt adaptability was the way to survive and be more adventurous in life, risk taking, and experience different scenarios, and to learn more and expand the mindset. They say travelling does that… broadens the mind.
It makes sense now, to me, why some I know don’t go further afield and prefer to stay close to their home boundaries. Kind of sad really.

As for voting… seems a lot are like that in Oz, either Libs or Labs! It has bothered me forever why always them 2 parties … now I know….

Quote:


Yes the science would seem to be correct, while it has always been obvious at least now we know why.

issuevoter wrote on Oct 17^th, 2023 at 6:54am:


You would have made a sensible post had you left out this rubbish which does not happen.  And that does not include Woke agendas like teaching school children to doubt their emerging sexuality.

Jasin wrote on Oct 16^th, 2023 at 10:19pm:


Good to see this topic is moving forward in exposing the truth about the dheads from Monk’s Manure Mong who struggle with 1 fried drug brain cell each and every day. 😂🤣😆

Lisa Jones wrote on Oct 17^th, 2023 at 7:23am:


Ooops...I forgot the alcohol fried brain cell left trapped in the forum’s 80 yr old Drunk. We mustn’t forget THAT turd. 😂🤣😆

Jasin wrote on Oct 16^th, 2023 at 10:19pm:



Dumb claim, so many on the left were predicting the no vote and openly revealing that they were thinking of voting no. I don't recall hardly anyone claiming the yes vote would win.

Quote:


You may have noticed that there are more than one topic discussed at a time ? Yes Trump was found guilty of rape.

Starting a different valid topic isn't deflecting.

On topic again…. I wanted to find out more about the findings of the nature of conservatives and progressives re: coping abilities with depression, sudden changes in life (death in family, separation/divorce, house destroyed in flood or fire etc) and who would fare better out of progressives and conservatives?
Having said my mother is conservative and father is progressive, yet they both survived so many battles, war, poverty, tragedy, etc it makes me think there is something more to just 2 labels.

What makes some people have better survival instincts in tougher life situations and some commit suicide over simpler things?

I can see how 2 labels of progressives and conservatives are within politics/voting.
Re: mention of learning music in op’s topic….it’s likened to learning a new language.
It’s more impressionable and with younger minds, as I used to teach classical music (piano) I found younger students did very well understanding it with not too many questions.
Adults that always wanted to learn a musical instrument were not as impressionable and they found it harder to make room in their weekly time schedule to practice what they learnt at the lesson.
Sadly they eventually give up.
As one ages, one has to have a lot of passion, determination and focus to make changes in life if they really want to follow a desire such as learning a new skill.

Lisa Jones wrote on Oct 17^th, 2023 at 7:57am:


There’s no deflection from the fact the majority voted No in the recent referendum conservatives or progressives.
It’s common sense more so.

Anyone that says what it was supposed to be with a yes vote is only imagining what they hope it would be.
Many saw it as an unknown quantity.
If it went ahead and money laundered in ways that would shock… we would simply be told “but you voted yes as in forever!”

Getting a yes vote out of emotions to then say once we get the yes vote then they make up the rules to their whims and wants… is a very unpredictable situation.
It would be too late to reverse it and quite frankly, the sore loser attitude and vengeful attitudes are not pleasant. Different threatening shades of grey there!

mothra wrote on Oct 16^th, 2023 at 12:15pm:



More tears & lashing out because of the referendum result? 

Conservatism is highly dependent on the personality trait of conscientiousness; its subcategories being: self-efficacy, dutifulness, orderliness, achievement striving and self-discipline.

A liberal mindset is highly dependent on the personality trait of openness; its subcategories being: imaginative, emotional, aesthetic, adventurous and intellectually curious.

The degree to which you tend towards the personality traits of conscientiousness and openness is the degree to which you are likely to be respectively conservative or liberal.

Frank wrote on Oct 20^th, 2023 at 4:53pm:

Two of the OCEAN traits - namely Conscientiousness and Openness have been associated with a tendency towards conservatism and liberalism respectively for years.

MeisterEckhart wrote on Oct 20^th, 2023 at 4:56pm:


Nonsense. Bollocks on stilts.


[Ill-defined abstract psychological concept] and [Ill-defined abstract psychological concept] have been associated with a tendency - geddit? associated with a tendency - towards [Ill-defined political concept] and [Ill-defined political concept] for years.


Social 'science'- dontcha love it?

MeisterEckhart wrote on Oct 20^th, 2023 at 5:52pm:


that would explain why the right lift and the left lean 

MeisterEckhart wrote on Oct 20^th, 2023 at 5:52pm:

Gerber, Gerber and... er.... Gerber.  That's enough Gerber.

the labels of progressive and conservative are outdated anyway, given that what means to be one of them changes every few decades.

a better contrast is emotionalism and rationalism.

Gnads wrote on Oct 17^th, 2023 at 9:25am:

What do Trump voters have to do with the referendum 

Jovial Monk wrote on Oct 21^st, 2023 at 6:40am:


Not at all.

We’re laughing so much AT you idiots who voted YES AND LOST. We’re STILL laughing in fact. Has that bungling boomer Albo stopped crying though?

Jovial Monk wrote on Oct 21^st, 2023 at 6:40am:



Just imagine the tears if they'd lost

I've heard of a sore loser before but this is the first time I've seen a  sore winner

Jovial Monk wrote on Oct 21^st, 2023 at 6:40am:


Happy with the No decision, but very angry about the paedophile enabling dummy spit by the government.

John Smith wrote on Oct 21^st, 2023 at 9:33am:


The enabling of paedophiles brings you joy?

Certainly weird when sensible people who won the vote are now demanding real action and the losers are desperately trying everything to stop them - including endless mindless ranting about 'sore winners'...

Clearly these demented types do not want real solutions - must be money in it for them somewhere - that they've missed out on by losing.  Must be Abo claimants on the borderline expecting the Gold Rush Cargo cult that didn't arrive ..

You lost, princesses - suck it up................

Now - for those REAL solutions.... why would any government block those?  Well - clearly so they can point fingers and say the NO vote didn't do anything for the Cheers, so they're forced to do the same things their way - follow their laid down agenda - without the approval of the ordinary people who said a resounding NO.

Oh - lookee here!  We didn't win the nonsense that would do nothing for the average Cheer, and we've blocked all attempts to install positive solutions - so nothing has changed for the suffering Cheers out there!  Must be the fault of the NO vote, eh?

Now you can clearly see their way of not thinking - cunning yes - smart, NO - that's why they lost...

Suck it up princesses and get on with the real job you are paid to do .... or you'll force us to elect Voldemort .. that should frighten you..                    

Belgarion wrote on Oct 21^st, 2023 at 10:34am:


That’s what Frodo has just inferred. 😔🥺😩

Frank wrote on May 8^th, 2024 at 10:07am:



Yes, liberals are much more biased towards facts than conservatives. Your point?

A liberal's brain might be just as stubborn to change as a conservative. I have watched too many youtube videos of both sides of the argument.

UnSubRocky wrote on May 8^th, 2024 at 3:58pm:


Perfectly said.... the conservative minded liberal is worse - they play the emotion game as well......  think of the poor suffering Abestinians, women, ethnics, immigrants, Mussos and so forth - every one of them doing it hard in Australia the Dumb!! ...

Don't be so inflexible in your liberalsplaining, John-o ... 

Frank wrote on May 8^th, 2024 at 6:57pm:


You really are as dumb as dogshit you know that? Telling me what I think isn't an answer.  Not now,  not ever.  That you obfuscate over your point highlights how pointless your comment really was.

There is merit in what you say .........

Frank wrote on May 8^th, 2024 at 8:42pm:

You're really struggling aren't you? 

John Smith wrote on May 8^th, 2024 at 8:50pm:



I didn't tell you what you "think", thicko. I told you you misunderstand basic words like bias.
You also miss the point of a short paragraph even when it is highlighted and then repeated for you.  So don't overestimate yourself - you do not 'think'. You are a thick, incomprehending, semi literate ratbag.

Here, word of the day for you, see if you comprehend it:

Bias
Systematic distortion of results or findings from the true state of affairs, or any of several varieties of processes leading to systematic distortion. In everyday usage, “bias” often implies the presence of emotional and/or political prejudices that influence conclusions and decisions.


So the point again, now with an explanation of bias:

Interestingly, liberals showed three times more bias than conservatives.



Do you still 'think' it means more  biased towards facts, as you idiotically said?


John Smith wrote on May 8^th, 2024 at 1:17pm:

Frank wrote on May 8^th, 2024 at 9:30pm:



You really are a dumbarse  you know that.  And you're determined to keep proving it. You did tell me what I think when you said  bias doesn't mean what  I THINK  it means. How the farkk would you know what i think it means? 
I know full well what bias means you cretin of all cretins. 

And you pretend to have a university degree.  Fmd what hope is there . 

Ah, yes - the old science of voodoo guesswork, eh?

If we take the square root of the round circle of data, and view it through a prismatic lens heated to the level of feverish brain activity, we see clearly, through a micronoscope of coloured lenses over our eyes, that the entire structure falls into the pattern of a web of deceit.... as such a ready market is available for selling such cock to the world as it currently stands ... we'll make a fortune and you will become the first professor of social voodoo!!!

Don't fiddle with the controls when you have a slight rudder heaviness... just fly the plane and get it back on the ground.  Don't try to fix what ain't broke - look at what the 'liberal' social sciences have done to us all so far.....

I don't consider myself in either camp - as the Rabbi said - thank you god for making me different .... and I have yet to see a social science controlled experiment actually work out without 'unexpected outcomes' that are often disastrous to many.

"mothra wrote" ........ well - that should be a penetrating look into the human psyche - or one of them anyway ..... 

Sarcasm may have BEEN the lowest for of wit - but they hadn't met me then .... oh, sprint - there are all those words in that 'study' again - "suggests"  (ROFL) ... "likely"  (ROFL) ... the rest is just entrenched bias horse sht.... herh, herh - I'VE got the study - I make the rules... herh, herh....

You need to be more careful when shaving your cyclist legs for comp ....

For the Lost (Who Cries For The Lost?) - this is the horse spit component (most of that blurb):-

"For some conservatives, it's like asking them to change the color of their eyes.
A progressive worldview cannot pierce their psyche because being dogmatic is programmed into the fabric of that worldview.
It is not just that they are “stubborn”; their brains are actually wired to resist things that are new and different.
So, you could say they lack “free will” when it comes to their voting decision.
When we speak of free will in a modern sense, we are talking about the personal agency that enables one to override ingrained biases and consider alternative perspectives."

Talk about guilty by their own mouths.....

Dnarever wrote on May 9^th, 2024 at 12:02am:




Reality, duckwit, demonstrates the exact opposite. All the 'progressive" socialist states of Eastern Europe crashed while 'conservative' capitalist countries flourish.

Conservative doesn't mean stagnant, monolithic. Loking after your garden, your house, your family is conservative.
Concreting your garden, neglecting your house, abandoning your family for a folly is progressive.

mothra wrote on Oct 16^th, 2023 at 1:40pm:


Are you? 

I'd say definitely not ... hypocrisy ..no?

Frank wrote on May 9^th, 2024 at 8:38am:



Here you go dogshit, for your education since you obviously failed primary school,  the full definition.

[i] [quote]Dictionary
Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more
bias
/ˈbʌɪəs/
noun
[highlight]1.inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair.
"there was evidence of bias against foreign applicants"

2. [quote]STATISTICS
a systematic distortion of a statistical result due to a factor not allowed for in its derivation.
verb
1.cause to feel or show inclination or prejudice for or against someone or something.
"the search results are biased by the specific queries used"

2.
STATISTICS
distort (a statistical result); introduce bias into (a method of sampling, measurement, analysis, etc.)[/highlight]

Must suck to be as dumb as you. Probably to late for you to get that refund now though, you'd struggle to write your letter you're soooooo dogshit stupid 

mothra wrote on Oct 16^th, 2023 at 12:57pm:

It's an OPINION piece, numpty.

Frank wrote on May 9^th, 2024 at 8:53pm:



That you resurrected from deep slumber to re-infuriate all of you poor, tired old anachronisms.

A last gasp, fruitbat?

Frank wrote on May 9^th, 2024 at 8:46am:


Furta.

Progressives are not socialist and conservatives are not really capitalists they just like to think they are. The right typically take more socialist type handouts than the left while proclaiming the free market.

mothra wrote on Oct 16^th, 2023 at 12:15pm:


Pondering, what --can-- change the opinion and mind of someone ?

Q.
What effect does presenting empirical truth, again, and again, and again,
have upon the opinions of --individuals-- [i.e. those not belonging to a HIVE MIND] ?

mothra wrote on Oct 16^th, 2023 at 12:15pm:


Pondering, what --can-- change the opinion and mind of someone ?

Q.
What effect does presenting empirical truth, again, and again, and again,
have upon the opinions of --individuals-- [i.e. those not belonging to a HIVE MIND] ?