It's not Religion .. IT'S BIOLOGY!! - Rocket River http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090605/sc_livescience/conservativesaremoreeasilydisgusted Conservatives Are More Easily Disgusted livescience.com – 1 hr 19 mins ago People who squirm at the sight of bugs or are grossed out by blood and guts are more likely to be politically conservative, new studies find. In particular, the squeamish are more apt to have conservative attitudes about gays and lesbians. Lots of other research has tied politics to biology and behavior. Some quick background: A study last year found that when people feel physically clean, they are less judgmental. Another study found that political conservatives tend to be tidy, with organized offices, but liberals favor colorful, more stylish but cluttered spaces. Political views are driven by religion, culture and even biology, other research has shown. A large, global study in 2007 concluded that political preference is 50 percent genetic. The new studies In one of the new studies, Cornell University psychology professor David Pizarro and colleagues surveyed 181 U.S. adults from politically mixed swing states. They used a Disgust Sensitivity Scale (DSS), which offers various scenarios to assess disgust sensitivity, as well as a political ideology scale. They found a correlation between being more easily disgusted and political conservatism. Then they surveyed 91 Cornell undergraduates with the DSS, as well as with questions about their positions on issues including gay marriage, abortion, gun control, labor unions, tax cuts and affirmative action. Participants who rated higher in disgust sensitivity were more likely to oppose gay marriage and abortion, issues that are related to notions of morality or purity. The results are detailed in the journal Cognition & Emotion. In a separate study in the current issue of the journal Emotion, Pizarro and colleagues found a link between higher disgust sensitivity and disapproval of gays and lesbians. In this research, they used implicit measures, which assess attitudes people may be unwilling to report explicitly or that they may not even know they possess. The studies were funded by the university. Morals and disgust Morals and disgust are intertwined. Research earlier this year found that people react similarly to disgusting photographs by curling the upper lip and wrinkling the nose. When judging behavior, our disgust can actually make us feel physically sick. Pizarro explains that disgust is evolution's way of protecting us from disease. Unfortunately, in his view, disgust is now used to make moral judgments. Liberals and conservatives disagree about whether disgust has a valid place in making moral judgments, Pizarro argues. Some conservatives think there is inherent wisdom in repugnance, that feeling disgusted about something - gay sex between consenting adults, for example - is cause enough to judge it wrong or immoral, even lacking a concrete reason, Pizarro explains. Liberals tend to disagree, and are more likely to base judgments on whether an action or a thing causes actual harm, he said. Studying the link between disgust and moral judgment could help explain the strong differences in people's moral opinions, Pizarro figures. And it could offer strategies for persuading some to change their views. "People have pointed out for a long time that a lot of our moral values seem driven by emotion, and in particular, disgust appears to be one of those emotions that seems to be recruited for moral judgments," Pizarro said. An interesting related aside to chew on: Research published in 2007 in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that people who think of themselves as having high moral standards often become the worst cheats because they pursue what they believe to be a moral end at all cost. Humans: The Strangest Species 10 Things You Didn't Know About You Conservatives Happier Than Liberals Robert Roy Britt is the Editorial Director of Imaginova. In this column, The Water Cooler, he looks at what people are talking about in the world of science and beyond. Original Story: Conservatives Are More Easily Disgusted
This is an old study, I also think they did another one that proved conservatives are more reactionary by nature.
I don't know if it's old, but it is similar to other studies that were posted here. I think it's an interesting line of research, though I could see people simplifying and then mis-applying the correlation in the real world. Rimrocker, lol!
Do you have a rule on how long it's been on the floor? I would predict conservatives to have a 3 sec rule, liberals...maybe a 10 sec rule(but that's only because someone might be watching). b*stard moderate independents? We have no rules, we'll lick the floor clean
http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=154174 There was a similar study done by Rice University that pretty much stated conservatives were bigger wussies.
I don't understand the three second rule or the ten second rule. The damage is done. As long as it's during the course of the meal, what difference would it make? 3 extra microscopic dust particles land on it? Well, wouldn't that happen if it were sitting on your plate? I do have a public/private rule though. I mostly only eat off my own floor. I wouldn't pick something off the floor of a restaurant unless it was naturally protected by being fried, like a piece of chicken or a shrimp.
There is a study, it shows that if you drop food on the ground, I assume dry food, it will take 12 or is that 15 seconds before bacteria start to move on the food. So the 3 second rule is valid, even the 10 seonc rule is fine.
I am pretty squeamish when it comes to bugs and guts, etc etc. I do not have conservative attitudes toward gays and lesbians. I am fairly moderate on social issues. I am very conservative fiscally. I guess I am the exception.
