JoB
ok.. this is probably going to truly identify me on some detail obsessed democratic scale…
but how many college students… and has this research been replicated elsewhere.. and how many places… ???
while i think it is probably true that in some areas that democgraphic would hold.. i would question it’s validity over the broader spectrum.
the functional MRI studies that were done looking at brain engagement when those who held strong political opinions.. both democrat and republican… showed that those with strong opinions are more likely to shut down their brain processing when confronted with information that challenged their opinions.. whether democrat or republican.
we will all seek facts to support what we think we know… and will listen more to those who tell us what we want to hear than those who don’t.
for the past few decades, our national media created a circumstance where those who less inclined to challenge would hold republican political views by being so politically biased towards the right.
As a young person, you would have to have an enquiring and challenging mindset to find information that challenges the common media perceptions…
and.. before you get offended New Resident.. i am just saying that those who accept the status quo would be more likely to be Republican because the status quo is republican.. not that you have to suspend critical thought to be a republican.
It’s like in the 70s when women first started talking about their own child abuse in informal focus groups. For a while, there was some question whether female intelligence was related to early child abuse… so many of those who participated in challenging discussions had been abused.
But it turned out that the abuse itself had shaped how we viewed our own prospects.. we had been disabused early of the notion that being a good girl and following society’s expectations would promise us protection and success… so we sought out alternatives.. which at that time for women meant pursuing higher education.
thus.. those who had been abused were more likely to challenge the status quo and find themselves involved in lively and often contentious debate during that time period…
“pure” science is such a misnomer because there are so few circumstances that are not influenced by nurture as much as by nature.
so.. where was the study.. how many students… was it replicated.. what happens if you test people over 50 whose world view and expectations of truth were shaped before the current trend towards entertainment news? inquiring minds want to know:)
but.. i have to agree.. i personally like the notion of democrats as the thinking party ;-)