Another study - Difference between Conservatives/Liberals

[packman]

"According to the experts who study political leanings, liberals and conservatives do not just see things differently. They are different—in their personalities and even their unconscious reactions to the world around them. For example, in a study published in January, a team led by psychologist Michael Dodd and political scientist John Hibbing of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln found that when viewing a collage of photographs, conservatives' eyes unconsciously lingered 15 percent longer on repellent images, such as car wrecks and excrement—suggesting that conservatives are more attuned than liberals to assessing potential threats.

Meanwhile examining the contents of 76 college students' bedrooms, as one group did in a 2008 study, revealed that conservatives possessed more cleaning and organizational items, such as ironing boards and calendars, confirmation that they are orderly and self-disciplined. Liberals owned more books and travel-related memorabilia, which conforms with previous research suggesting that they are open and novelty-seeking.



So conservatives like things neat, orderly, homely and are fearful when things aren't neat, orderly, and homely.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/calling-truce-political-wars/

[moonbabygo]

1. no surprises here except

the suggestion that conservatives are more attuned than liberals to assessing potential threats.

[BillZBubb]

2. Maybe liberals assess potential threats more quickly?

And conservatives just like to look at destruction and shit?

[The2ndWheel]

3. I think we're all a little more complicated than that

Which I think scares everyone. We don't like admitting to what we don't like about ourselves. Every liberal is open to anything all the time? Every conservative has cleaning supplies?

We all seek novelty and order. None of us really enjoys when things aren't neat. We're all anxious or fearful about change that we don't like, but are all for change when it's something we do like.

When we lived in smaller tribes, and needed everyone, the different characteristics of each person helped the group. Today, we're far more about individualism. That's both the right and left on that one. So it's easier to divide ourselves by ever increasing abstract ideas and concepts.

Maybe easier isn't the right word. Maybe it's that we want to break ourselves into smaller groups. This global civilization that we've stumbled into, it's very complicated. There are far more variables involved than anyone can really grasp. If we compartmentalize aspects of life, it's a little easier. We can't know that many people all that well, so if we generalize, and liberals are this, and conservatives are that, and each side thinks they're right and the other is wrong, we can get through the day.