Upstream | April 11, 2011 | 34 comments

Will President Obama and the House GOP ever agree? Science suggests no

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20110411/pl_yblog_theticket/will-president-obama-and...

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littlwarrior
President Obama and House Republicans may have narrowly averted a government shutdown last weekend, but as the two sides prepare to engage in another round of intra-party feuding over budget proposals, a new study suggests that basic brain science might stand in the way of bipartisanship.

Using data from MRI scans, researchers at the University College London found that self-described liberals have a larger anterior cingulate cortex--a gray matter of the brain associated with understanding complexity. Meanwhile, self-described conservatives are more likely to have a larger amygdala, an almond-shaped area that is associated with fear and anxiety.

"Previously, some psychological traits were known to be predictive of an individual's political orientation," lead researcher Ryota Kanai writes of the study in the latest issue of Current Biology. "Our study now links personality traits with specific brain structure."

Observers will notice a familiar name on the report: Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth, who commissioned the report while serving as a guest host of the BBC Radio 4's Today program in London last year. (Neurological sources of stammering don't come into play.)

The study, which was conducted with the help of 90 young adult volunteers, comes on the heels of other research that linked political beliefs to genetic differences between liberals and conservatives. Last year, a joint study by the Harvard and the University of California, San Diego, found there might actually be a so-called "liberal gene" that influences political leanings.

While the London study does find distinct differences between Democrats and Republicans, its authors caution that more research needs to be done on the subject. One unknown is whether people are simply born with their political beliefs or if our brains adjust to life experiences--which is a possibility, Kanai writes.

"It's very unlikely that actual political orientation is directly encoded in these brain regions," he said in a statement accompanying the study. "More work is needed to determine how these brain structures mediate the formation of political attitude."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20110411/pl_yblog_theticket/will-preside...
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34 comments // Will President Obama and the House GOP ever agree? Science suggests no

  • remanns
  • MizPiz
    • +1
      MizPiz  

    • So now we have scientific evidence that proves that Obama is wasting everyone's time with this "bi-partisan" crap.

    • 1 year ago
  • littlwarrior
    • +1
      littlwarrior  
    • MizPiz:

      Republicans are a necessary evil, they bring balance to what could become overzealous progression, also it gives the fearful a place to be where we can clearly see them. If we only had one party then those driven by fear would not be so easily seen.

    • 1 year ago
  • MizPiz
  • littlwarrior
  • remanns
  • MizPiz
    • 0
      MizPiz  
    • littlwarrior:

      I'm not saying we should ignore them either, I'm saying we need to stop giving them every single thing they want. For example, the recent near shutdown was a tiny step in the right direction, but the fact that Obama and the Democrats allowed the Republicans to make that an option in the first place is just ridiculous.

    • 1 year ago
  • littlwarrior
    • 0
      littlwarrior  
    • MizPiz:

      This is true, I am glad that the Dems stood their ground and saved programs like planned parenthood, but then again if they had let planned parenthood go they would have lost a lot of voters because I know I would shopping for someone else to vote for.

    • 1 year ago
  • Cruzankenny
  • littlwarrior
    • 0
      littlwarrior  
    • Cruzankenny:

      Not necessarily genetic I'm sure there are those with the extra gray matter who choose to be evil, and join with republicans, and I'm sure there are frightened little souls that choose to be liberals in spite of their fear.

    • 1 year ago
  • H3ADLINE
    • +1
      H3ADLINE  

    • They agree on war, occupation, tax cuts for plutocrats, unwarranted surveillance, military tribunals, torture on CIA black sites, the bailout of Wall Street, opposing marriage equality, mercenary contractors, silencing whistleblowers, assassinating American citizens without trial, expanding nuclear power production, and now bleeding the middle class on the alter of austerity.

      You know.
      Only the little things.

      This is not a conflict between ideologies, or political parties and their groupies. That's a great narrative drum to beat if you want to stroke people's egos through division. All the better to conquer them.

      No, this is a fight for the right of human beings to matter more than money, and you're in it whether you like it or not. Do something about it.

    • 1 year ago
  • Maggielee
    • +2
      Maggielee  

    • All they had to do is call me. I would have told them the answer to their question about the Rethugs and President Obama getting along.
      The simple answer is HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      The right wingers just want to whine and cry wolf to get their snotty little way.

    • 1 year ago
  • Warren_Merrill
  • letsliveinpeace
  • 2damax
    • +2
      2damax  

    • Its probably because Democrats urge their sheeple to understand, while Republicans force their sheeple into fearful outbursts of sheer stupidity.

    • 1 year ago
  • Straighttalker
    • +2
      Straighttalker  

    • No. Different agendas at work. Democrats work to improve the quality of life for the average citizen. Republicans work to increase the assets of the rich.

    • 1 year ago
  • KB723
    • +3
      KB723  

    • Will President Obama and the House GOP ever agree?

      LOL!!!!
      They Already HAVE and it was NOT in the best interest of the Tax paying, Bill paying, Product consuming Americans.... We just get to wait a couple days for the Awful Compromises agreed to, to hit the news and talking head shows... =(

    • 1 year ago
  • remanns
  • tlbuffin
  • Maggielee
  • Vierotchka
  • Leen61
    • +5
      Leen61  

    • It's pretty obvious that the liberal brain is genetically superior to the conservative brain. So it's easy to figure with the dumbing down of America the increasing number of dolts are tilting the country to the right. See "Idiocracy." That movie says it all.

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
  • remanns
  • CalPal
  • littlwarrior
    • +5
      littlwarrior  
    • CalPal:

      If they are then liberal is defiantly dominant because my mom is a republican through and through, my dad is a democrat through and through. All us kids are happy little liberals, well except for one but he just has anger issues.

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
  • Leen61
  • remanns
  • wtthfkovr
  • MizPiz
  • COMMONSENSEFORCOMMONGOOD_COM
    • 0
      COMMONSENSEFORCOMMONGOOD_COM  

    • God forbid that the two should ever totally concur, as long as being GOP means what it now does! But, far too much to our collective chagrin, Obama is on the same page as, and marching to the same to as, corporate GOP. He is not a government reformer, or he would have made sure that campaign finance reform was the first issue tackled by the '08 democrat controlled Congress.

    • 1 year ago
  • littlwarrior
    • +7
      littlwarrior  

    • What I find entertaining is that liberals are more prone to understanding complex issues and conservatives lack this extra gray matter while possessing more of an ability to be afraid. this makes some sense though I doubt it is 100% accurate.

    • 1 year ago
  • COMMONSENSEFORCOMMONGOOD_COM
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