Posted on 12/09/2010 5:37:25 AM PST by decimon
Liberals focus their attention on 'gaze cues' much differently than do conservatives, study finds
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.
"We thought that political temperament may moderate the magnitude of gaze-cuing effects, but we did not expect conservatives to be completely immune to these cues," said Michael Dodd, a UNL assistant professor of psychology and the lead author of the study.
Liberals may have followed the "gaze cues," meanwhile, because they tend to be more responsive to others, the study suggests.
"This study basically provides one more piece of evidence that liberals and conservatives perceive the world, and process information taken in from that world, in different ways," said Kevin Smith, UNL professor of political science and one of the study's authors.
"Understanding exactly why people have such different political perspectives and where those differences come from may help us better understand the roots of a lot of political conflict."
The study involved 72 people who sat in front of a white computer screen and were told to fixate on a small black cross in its center. The cross then disappeared and was replaced by a drawing of a face, but with eyes missing their pupils. Then, pupils appeared in the eyes, looking either left or right. Finally, a small, round target would appear either on the left or right side of the face drawing.
Dodd said the participants were told that the gaze cues in the study did not predict where the target would appear, so there was no reason for participants to attend to them. "But the nature of social interaction tends to make it very difficult to ignore the cues, even when they're meaningless," he said.
As soon as they saw the target, participants would tap the space bar on their keyboard, giving researchers information on their susceptibility to the "gaze cues." Each sequence, which lasted a few hundred milliseconds, was repeated hundreds of times.
Afterward, participants were surveyed on their beliefs on a range of political issues to establish their political ideology.
In addition to shedding light on the differences between the two political camps, researchers said the results add to growing indications that suggest biology plays a role determining one's political direction. Previous UNL research has delved into the physiology of political orientation, showing that those highly responsive to threatening images are likely to support defense spending, capital punishment, patriotism and the Iraq War.
Traditionally, political scientists have accounted for political differences purely in terms of environmental forces, but this study shows the potential role of cognitive biases – wherever they may come from – as a relevant area of future research.
"Getting things done in politics typically depends on competing viewpoints finding common ground," Smith said. "Our research is suggesting that's a lot tougher than it sounds, because the same piece of ground can look very different depending on which ideological hill you view it from."
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The study, funded in part by the National Science Foundation, is in a forthcoming edition of the journal Attention, Perception & Psychophysics and is authored by UNL's Dodd, Smith and John R. Hibbing.
LIBERAL CONSERVATIVE PERCEPTUAL RESPONSIVENESS DIFFERENCE DOCUMENTED
PING
Synopsis of the above:
liberals move their eyes to look at what another person is looking at, even when it has nothing to do with what they are doing.
Totally confirms what I knew: libs are nosy, can’t mind their own business, and are easily led.
Liberals are natural born followers who are easy marks for con men spouting Liberal drivel in a personal quest for power.
Well this explains the widespread belief in the existence of Obama’s Stash.
They could have saved time and money on this study. Most conservatives have God as there moral center and there belief in him and the values that are teached in the Bible shape our very beings. Libs, for the most part, have no such moral anchor and are constantly searching for that happiness. I would go so far as to say that the Devil, to some knowingly, shapes there way of thinking. Greed and lust for power consume them and make them do the things they do.
Assuming this study has meaning, you can read in to it what you please. The authors of the study seem to have done so.
Hahaha! Nice!
On the other hand, people into advertising recognize it as quantification of something they've known for ages, and accordingly would identify it as a "hard science".
But, to get to the point. Going back in time we know people were either HUNTERS or THE HUNTED (that is, game animals), depending on where they were and what was about.
So you are waiting there in the blind and the game animal comes up and you take aim and suddenly your eyes are distracted by something the game animal is looking at. Ha, ha! It's a doe in heat.
Well, there goes the game animal and you just lost your shot, but you are compensated with Paleolithic porn!
Other hunters keep their mind on what's going on. Just as that buck starts looking up the arrow is on the way right into his heart.
Now let's say the game animal (the buck) looked up and saw a Panther just to your left.
As a Conservative hunter you've probably scanned around and seen him anyway and are prepared to take appropriate action ~ evasion or attack ~ while the Liberal hunter tracks the buck's gaze to the panther and still imagines the panther will prefer to eat the buck first!
If the Conservative hunter acts in time the Liberal hunter will not be eaten this time ~ but maybe later. Frankly, I'd get a different hunting partner.
I hope my tax dollars didn’t help pay for this drivel.
Interesting. I do believe libs and conservatives think differently. From what I’ve seen, libs base their decisions on on they FEEL - and they don’t often consider cause-and-effect. (Just my observation)
At first, I thought this was a satire piece, so I rechecked the author. Once I knew they were serious , I thought much the same thing you did.
My own PERSONAL conclusion from the tests is that is is POSSIBLE that conservatives feel more RESPONSIBLE for the TASK they are assigned, and STICK WITH THE JOB, keeping their eyes on the target.
Libs, otoh, are a bit more 'liberal' shall we say, about sticking to the rules.
The problem for me is how one goes about identifying someone as a conservative or a liberal. Just because someone votes for a Democrat doesn't make them a liberal, any more than voting for a Republican makes you a conservative.
> Liberals may have followed the “gaze cues,” meanwhile,
> because they tend to be more responsive to others, the
> study suggests.
Yes, of course, Liberals are so much more responsive to the needs of others.
A Liberal study conducted by Liberal professors, the results of which are interpreted to support Liberal talking points, is not a valid study.
Interesting study
I must ponder on this one
It explains much of human behavior differences between
those who take on different political postures
The study, funded in part by the National Science Foundation
So liberals are shifty-eyed herd animals and conservatives have a tendency to remain focused.
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