Liberals Focus Their Attention on 'Gaze Cues' Much Differently Than Conservatives Do

[LuckyTheDog]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101209074403.htm

It goes without saying that conservatives and liberals don't see the world in the same way. Now, research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln suggests that is exactly, and quite literally, the case.

In a new study, UNL researchers measured both liberals' and conservatives' reaction to "gaze cues" -- a person's tendency to shift attention in a direction consistent with another person's eye movements, even if it's irrelevant to their current task -- and found big differences between the two groups.

Liberals responded strongly to the prompts, consistently moving their attention in the direction suggested to them by a face on a computer screen. Conservatives, on the other hand, did not.

Why? Researchers suggested that conservatives' value on personal autonomy might make them less likely to be influenced by others, and therefore less responsive to the visual prompts.

Interesting findings.

[yodermon]

1. Lack of empathy.

IMO.

[EFerrari]

5. Yep

[LuckyTheDog]

12. I agree (nt)

[TheKentuckian]

11. Gotta be pretty close to the mark. It sure isn't any autonomy reflex because most of them are innate

Authoritarian taint lickers and it can't be nonconformity as they ever seek an intense level of uniformity.

It almost has to be tied with their disinclination to every put themselves in other shoes and apparently not having a clue about community and society.

They don't read verbal cues other because they don't give a fuck about people that they haven't accepted into their "clan" or family group.

[aquart]

2. Incorrect findings, heavily biased.

"Personal autonomy," my ass. No, they aren't responding because they can't read nonverbal language. Which is why ads to liberals and to conservatives have to be structured differently. It is also possible to structure an ad that says totally different things to liberals and conservatives at exactly the same time.

[GCP]

3. Republicans are using their reptile brains

Compared to the liberals using their mammalian brains.

http://www.astcweb.org/public/publication/article.cfm/1/22/4/Reptile-Brain-Mammal-Heart-and-Sometimes-Perplexing-Minds-of-Jurors

[Anakin Skywalker]

7. I Like Your Explanation Much Better! :-)

[DCKit]

4. "...conservatives' value on personal autonomy..."

I disagree. It's a lack of empathy, bordering on sociopathy for (way too) many of them.

[rucky]

6. That's why we move in lockstep and they don't.

:eyes:

[Gold Metal Flake]

13. +1

This is propaganda for the corporate media to feed the "Us Vs. Them" pre-violence indoctrination.

[Blecht]

8. As a scientist I'm deeply offended

This is total garbage.

[tabatha]

9. I don't believe/understand this

"showing that those highly responsive to threatening images are likely to support defense spending, capital punishment, patriotism and the Iraq War."

I would think that people highly responsive to threatening images would be averse to war, capital punishments, etc.

I cannot watch horror flicks because I cannot stand horrific situations, such as war - whether defensive or offensive.

[Odin2005]

10. Junk science.

And I am offended by the implication from this that us folks on the Autism spectrum would be RWers.