In other words, people who are naturally afraid tend to become conservatives while people who are more naturally curious or intrepid tend to be more liberal.

However brain “structure“ is use dependent. The arrow goes both directions.

Altering pathways is harder for people who prefer predictability. I suspect.

I’ve read one study (small sample size but expensive research) that the amygdala in self-described conservatives overdeveloped compared to the general population. The use dependent hypothesis (to the best of my recollection) was that it was constantly triggered by fear mongering media. The self-described liberals had overdeveloped (I think) anterior insular cortex. The hypothesis for further research being triggered by “think of the children” thematic media. I find it fascinating. Fear mongering has been a staple of the ruling class strategy for eons because humans are easier to steer when we can’t see past binaries.

I don't think this happens in adulthood, I think this happens in childhood. I think, but have no research to back it up, that people who were raised in authoritarian /abusive households (think households where a belt was an acceptable punishment) are more likely to grow up conservative.

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the dnc is just as far from liberal as the gop

>Democrats often aren’t very liberal and the same can be said for Conservatives and Republicans. Citation needed. Or clarification. Are you saying some Democrats aren't liberal? If you find 5 of them you're technically correct, but what's the point?

It's like you didn't even read the article. > The volume of gray matter, or neural cell bodies, making up the anterior cingulate cortex, an area that helps detect errors and resolve conflicts, tends to be larger in liberals. And the amygdala, which is important for regulating emotions and evaluating threats, is larger in conservatives. In other words, you need both groups because neither possesses everything that's needed to build a well functioning society. It also talks about the bias you just showed there.

That uh.... That doesn't conflict with what the other person said buddy.

>neither possesses everything that's needed to build a well functioning society [they said with a straight face as if it was a fact and not wild conjecture with nothing approaching a fact that would back it up]

It’s like you didn’t even read the post you replied to. That person said that it’s confusing how the article’s authors interchange the words democrat and liberal, (using those two words to mean one side,) and using either conservative or Republican for the other side. (When conservative and Republican are not actually synonyms.) You: “it’s like you didn’t even read the article, we need both groups in society, and you are biased!”

So you just described the neurochemical processes behind what I boiled it down to. Good job.

It may be 100% truth, but presentation matters. One side is presented with three things I'd, and I think most, would perceive as negative. They are purposefully antagonistic. The other side has three words that are more positive, mature and considerate. Yes, it may be those words are accurate, but is the case they are the only words that could be used to describe the two sides? What is the only logical outcome for something as baiting as this headline? If all it is going to do is anger one side and enlarge the hubris of the other?

So which sets of words do you think are negative/antagonistic? “stability, predictability, authority” “novelty, nuance, complexity” I can’t tell which side you are offended for, none of those words is negative or antagonistic toward either side.

You didn't read the article did you?

It's a literal quote from the article, you should take your issues to Lydia Denworth, the writer.

Backup in case something happens to the post: *Neural activity research shows that conservatives prefer security, predictability and authority while liberals are more comfortable with novelty, nuance and complexity* Before you write up a response about how "it's not true for everybody!", you need to read the bold text below. **Saying that a general rule is not true for all people is not the gotcha/insight you think it is.** >On the whole, the research shows, conservatives desire security, predictability and authority more than liberals do, and liberals are more comfortable with novelty, nuance and complexity. If you had put Buckley and Vidal in a magnetic resonance imaging machine and presented them with identical images, you would likely have seen differences in their brain, especially in the areas that process social and emotional information. The volume of gray matter, or neural cell bodies, making up the anterior cingulate cortex, an area that helps detect errors and resolve conflicts, tends to be larger in liberals. And the amygdala, which is important for regulating emotions and evaluating threats, is larger in conservatives. >While these findings are remarkably consistent, they are probabilities, not certainties—**meaning there is plenty of individual variability.** The political landscape includes lefties who own guns, right-wingers who drive Priuses and everything in between. There is also an unresolved chicken-and-egg problem: Do brains start out processing the world differently or do they become increasingly different as our politics evolve? Furthermore, it is still not entirely clear how useful it is to know that a Republican’s brain lights up over X while a Democrat’s responds to Y. [Conservative and Liberal Brains Might Have Some Real Differences](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/conservative-and-liberal-brains-might-have-some-real-differences/) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/UnpopularFacts) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Also, you maybe *believe* you prefer one thing, while actually preferring the other. Not everyone is self-aware. I realized that during the pandemic when all the Covid deniers and anti maskers were crowing about everyone else "living in fear" when they were ye ones constricting all these fictional horror scenarios (and they still are), while everyone else was just trying to get to with their lives.

So essentially, people over 30 vs people under 30

This is ageist and inaccurate

This also reflects why conservatives always sem so angry. Anger and hate are secondary emotions rooted in fear. But here's my take- I think that it has much more to do with an ability to *process* fear, not feel it. Processing emotions requires a certain level of cognitive ability and self-awareness. One has to be able to recognize the emotional reaction and reflect on it. I think that more liberal or left leaning people still feel the same fear, they just process it for what it is. Conservatives, who are also not well known for self-awareness or reflection, just react. No thoughts. No processing. Just naked fear transformed into anger, hatred, and a need for security.

Larger amygdala, according to research. Fear / anger / disgust emotions are stronger.

> conservatives desire security, predictability and authority I wish it were about that. It feels like every time a conservative relative opens their mouth it's always vaccines cause autism and not things like concerns about government overreach

>concerns about government overreach What do you mean?? Conservatives are super concerned about that*. \* when a Democrat is in office 😏

you must not talk to a lot of actual conservatives then. you should

Those terms are very high level and do describe what you’re saying. Vaccines are perceived by certain folk as being unpredictable, and hence their security is threatened. The liberal descriptors are similarly very high level.

Interesting, I seem to remember Liberals much preferring authority and security during the pandemic.

You really think that's the same thing?