Posted on 08/17/2012 12:01:25 PM PDT by Yardstick
At The American, AEI resident scholar Andrew Biggs highlights an interesting study that confirms what most conservatives probably already know to be true of themselves: We understand why our liberal friends think what they think more than they understand why we think what we think.
[University of Virginia professor Jonathan] Haidts research asks individuals to answer questionnaires regarding their core moral beliefswhat sorts of values they consider sacred, which they would compromise on, and how much it would take to get them to make those compromises. By themselves, these exercises are interesting. (Try them online and see where you come out.)
But Haidts research went one step further, asking self-indentified conservatives to answer those questionnaires as if they were liberals and for liberals to do the opposite. What Haidt found is that conservatives understand liberals moral values better than liberals understand where conservatives are coming from. Worse yet, liberals dont know what they dont know; they dont understand how limited their knowledge of conservative values is. If anyone is close-minded here its not conservatives.
Haidt has one theory to explain his results, while Biggs has another. Haidt says conservatives speak a broader and more encompassing language of six moral values, while liberals focus on a narrow subset of those values. Biggs says conservatives understand liberal positions because theyre inundated with them by the media, by academia, even to a certain extent by the culture.
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at hotair.com ...
Full title is "Confirmed: Conservatives understand liberal positions better than liberals understand conservative positions"
I always tell my liberal friends that I can argue their positions better than they can. They don’t get it because they are more concerned with what Rachel Madcow says then what their core values are.
Biggs says conservatives understand liberal positions because theyre inundated with them by the media, by academia, even to a certain extent by the culture.
The converse is also true. Liberals don’t understand Conservative positions because they rarely - if ever - hear them espoused.
Liberals lie, even to them selves.
Not only that, many conservatives are former liberals. I was a liberal until I was 30 and Ronaldus Maximus changed my life.
But very few liberals are former conservatives. That wouldn’t be evolution but devolution.
In my experience, we also understand liberal positions better than liberals do.
One caveat, however. I guess I can understand one thing. People like free stuff. I suppose people could be voting for more freebies if they don't like to work for a living.
That is so true, their circle ideas is so limited they think everyone thinks like they do, and when they do hear something contrary to their ideas they are puzzled
You are correct .. the liberals live in a bubble .. and that’s why they could say, “I can’t believe Nixon won the election .. I don’t know anybody who voted for him”.
I will never claim to be able to fathom WHY they believe what they do. That, though, doesn't keep me from knowing WHAT they claim to believe.
Yes, it really is mind-boggling and, of course, they don't make any sense, but you and I both already knew that.
It’s called idealogy.
All the libs believe the same - collectivism. That’s why they always support each other and cover for each other.
Conservatives, on the other hand, believe in the individual, and if you mess up .. we’re gonna tell ya .. but then at times we’re willing to give people a hand up when they decide to change their ways.
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