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Study: Political partisans don't think, they FEEL
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Senior User
Join Date: Feb 2001
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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/sc...r=2&oref=login
Liberals and conservatives can become equally bug-eyed and irrational when talking politics, especially when they are on the defensive.
Using M.R.I. scanners, neuroscientists have now tracked what happens in the politically partisan brain when it tries to digest damning facts about favored candidates or criticisms of them. The process is almost entirely emotional and unconscious, the researchers report, and there are flares of activity in the brain's pleasure centers when unwelcome information is being rejected.
"Everything we know about cognition suggests that, when faced with a contradiction, we use the rational regions of our brain to think about it, but that was not the case here," said Dr. Drew Westen, a psychologist at Emory and lead author of the study, to be presented Saturday at meetings of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology in Palm Springs, Calif.
Very interesting. The implications for the Political Lounge are staggering, it might have to be renamed in light of these findings.  Here are a few humble suggestions:
- The Emotional Lounge
- The Irrational Lounge
- Temperamental Central
- More Drama for your Mama Club
Any other ideas?
Kidding aside, I would think that nobody is surprised by this, of course. Perhaps armed with this knowledge, people will pause for a bit and try to reconsider their thoughts on something rather than simply react. Or perhaps this article itself will trigger an unconscious dismissal? 
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Last edited by Gee-Man; Jan 26, 2006 at 01:26 PM.
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Oct 2001
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Sure explains most the the FUD you see both sides slinging in here, doesn't it?
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If Heaven has a dress code, I'm walkin to Hell in my Tony Lamas.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Oct 1999
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Originally Posted by boots
Sure explains most the the FUD you see both sides slinging in here, doesn't it?
I'll agree with that.
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"Evil is Powerless If the Good are Unafraid." -Ronald Reagan
Apple and Intel, the dawning of a NEW era.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Nov 1999
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Seconded. Um, thirded?
But it's true. Both sides tend to believe that they have a monopoly on rationality, and that something is somehow wrong with the mental processes of anyone who disagrees. Usually this alleged 'problem' takes the form of words like ignorant, brainwashed, duped, or sometimes just evil.
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You are in Soviet Russia. It is dark. Grue is likely to be eaten by YOU!
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Dec 1999
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Sweet! A study that finally backs what I've been saying all these years.
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"…I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than
you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods,
you will understand why I dismiss yours." - Stephen F. Roberts
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Moderator  Join Date: May 2001
Location: Hilbert space
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The Moody Lounge would also be a welcome addition.
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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
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Moderator Join Date: May 2001
Location: Hilbert space
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The Moody Lounge would also be a welcome addition.
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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
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