An intriguing note from the world of science: People may hold conservative political views because they’re hard-wired to be more fearful than liberals, according to a team of eight researchers.
The researchers, whose findings were published this week in the journal Science, took 46 people and classified them as liberal or conservative based on their stands on gun control, the Iraq war, defense spending, capital punishment, immigration and other hot-button issues.
According to the Los Angeles Times, they “found to their surprise that opinions on such contentious subjects … are strongly associated with physiological traits that are probably present at birth. The key is the differing levels of fear that people naturally feel.”
In one experiment, subjects were shown disturbing images such as a bloody face, maggots in a wound and a spider on a person’s face while a device measured the electrical conductance of their skin, a physiological reaction that indicates fear. In another test, eye blink rates – another indicator of fear – were measured as subjects were exposed to sudden blasts of noise.
“People with strongly conservative views were three times more fearful than staunch liberals after the effects of gender, age, income and education were factored out,” the Times reported.
In the abstract of their findings, the researchers concluded that “the degree to which individuals are physiologically responsive to threat appears to indicate the degree to which they advocate policies that protect the existing social structure from both external (outgroup) and internal (norm-violator) threats.”
James H. Fowler, a political science professor at UC San Diego who was not involved in the research, told the Times that “the study added to the growing research suggesting that over millions of years, humans have developed two cognitive styles – conservative and liberal. Cautious conservatives prevented societies from taking undue risks, while more flexible liberals fostered cooperation. ‘For the species to survive, you need both,’ he said.”
Predictably, the on-line comments on the Times story were hot and heavy.
“The psychological community has gone communist and is working on subverting this entire country, busily advocating abnormality and discrediting normal behavior. My God these people are sick! Why don’t they use their time abusing themselves instead of the American public?” said one conservative.
“It makes sense – the only reason to carry a gun is fear, unless you enjoy killing small defenseless creatures for ‘sport,'” said a liberal. “People who are strong and confident feel no need to carry a weapon, because they feel no fear. Ditto, as to fear of ‘others’ – people who look or sound different – and therefore fear of immigrants. Further studies will probably reveal a failure to correlate information, think critically, or to have compassion for others, and to completely disregard the welfare of future generations and the health of the planet. Just look around you, and listen!”
Personally, The Eye thinks the study sample was way too small to draw any sweeping conclusions. But the idea does make sense on an intuitive level: Conservatives, by definition, want to protect the status quo, and an innate fear of change could account for that.
What do you think, Wandering Eye readers? Let ‘er rip.
This article appears in Sep 18-24, 2008.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
Just look at the state of the country now. The conservatives are selling fear. Fear the immigrants, gay people, the non christian, etc..
“People with strong conservative views were three times more fearful than staunch liberals after the effects of gender, age, income and education were factored out.”
What the hell does that mean? What effects? Who decided what the effects were from these conditions before removal of them? This appears to be more liberal elitist made up slanted hogwash bullshit that is typical of that limp dick genre.
In my life, associating primarily with gun toting right wingers, I’ve found the exact opposite to be true. The most fearful in our society is the over educated liberals. Have you ever seen a Harvard educated liberal motorcycle flat-track racer? Have you ever seen a liberal Harvard educated tree topping logger? How many liberal lefties to you see packing a gun in Iraq or Afghanistan? If conservatives are the fearful, how come they are the primary members of the military?
All the folks that I know that pack guns, do so not because they are afraid, but because they are smart. The very same liberal asshole that looks down his/her patrician nose at gun toter’s would never consider letting their homeowners insurance lapse and who would never consider defending themselves, are oblivious that statistically, you are two and a half times more likely to be involved in a life threatening assault than they are to have your house burn down. That is not liberal courage, it is liberal short sighted brainwashed stupidity. To be prepared is not fear, it is intelligent prudence. Conservatives prepare for the likely by taking action. Liberals don’t prepare for the likely, they stick their heads in the sand of brainwashed altered states and hope somebody that they paid to do a job for them, that they will not do for themselves, like the police, shows up to risk their life to protect the gutless cowardly liberals worthless life.
Take it as truth from an aging, gun toting, nationally ranked motorcycle racer, politically conservative pilot who walked away from a midair crash, survived hitting a wall at a TT race track at a 100+ mph, who won or placed in the top five four times in the old Bend-Burns cross country motorcycle run, and who has been in, and survived, two shoot outs with the bad guys, it ain’t us that is afraid…
If eye blink rates are an indicator of fear, what’s with John McCain? Ever seen him in an interview NOT conducted on Fox? How about when he’s questioned about anything substantive? My friends, tonight I’m going to check out Obama’s blinking for insights as to the nature of his inner O-meister.
BCW–
Careful-some Harvard educated, liberal, pansy, psychology maven may say you’re compensating.
“Have you ever seen a liberal Harvard educated tree topping logger?”
Why the hell would somebody with a Harvard degree risk his life for a logger’s wages?