Study shows Liberals display "truly false uniqueness", Conservative display "truly false consensus"

[okaawhatever]

Are liberals their own worst enemy? A new study suggests that may be the case, with its examination of why some political movements succeed and others fail.

The study showed that liberals overestimate the uniqueness of their political beliefs and that they are eager to have views that set them apart from others -- characteristics that might undermine their ability to maintain a cohesive political movement.

The psychologists behind the study said their findings may explain why the Tea Party movement succeeded in gaining lasting traction, while "Occupy Wall Street" fizzled out.

SNIP

Liberals displayed "truly false uniqueness," underestimating the number of other liberals who shared their same beliefs. Moderates and conservatives showed "truly false consensus." That means they overestimated agreement with their beliefs and preferences among their peers, thinking that their own views were more common than they really were.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/21/study-success-failure-political-movements_n_4310626.html

Definitely worth reading only a few additional paragraphs.

[hobbit709]

1. Whatever.

[Decaffeinated]

28. You special snowflake you...

[Scuba]

2. I can explain why the Tea Party movement succeeded in gaining lasting traction ...

... while "Occupy Wall Street" fizzled out.

Koch money and non-stop promotion by the so-called "liberal" media.

Occupy only has people.

[Dash87]

12. Occupy didn't connect with the average American.

At first, people were interested, but that changed when the Occupy movement seemed too rough around the edges and distant from what the American people want.

If you had normal, every day people out there marching, then the message would have been more friendly to the average American. Instead, everyone distanced themselves because of the problems Occupy had - the camps were disgusting, there were rapes, and the anarchist-types got on camera too many times.

For anyone that disagrees, ask the average person their opinion on Occupy. If you're saying to yourself, "the average person's opinion doesn't matter," then that's part of the problem.

[Scuba]

15. There's an element of truth in your analysis, but it's only a tiny fraction of the picture...

Ask yourself: Why did the "anarchist-types" get on camera so many times instead of this guy?

[Puzzledtraveller]

20. Many americans also saw occupy from their office

windows, figuratively, or on a news cover as they worked a cash register. Of course I know hard working people made time to get involved in OWS but the "average" american also saw a lot of people who were not working. I think that was a common perception. Even as they were protesting for the purpose and betterment of all working people that optics can be and were received differently I believe.

[snooper2]

25. Not really, here is the real difference between the two

OWS - We are pissed off! 99%!


Teabaggers - Fuck Obama! Small govbiment!

[treestar]

30. So if some rich billionaire decided to support Occupy

Or they collected billions of dollars for it, it would have gained as much traction as the Tea Party.

In essence, your are saying only money works and there is no way around that.

[Scuba]

31. Not without the media's assistance. But yeah, money drowns out the People's voices.

I did not say there's no way around it.

[treestar]

34. What is the way?

How do the people without billions to spend on major media get heard and learn to vote their own interests?

[Scuba]

35. Repeal Citizens United, go to 100% publicly-financed elections.

[Laelth]

3. Interesting. k&r n/t

-Laelth

[Fumesucker]

4. The backing of billionaires and the M$M had nothing to do with the Tea Party success

And the enmity of the same had nothing to do with the failure of Occupy.

[pangaia]

7. Can you expand on that?

Thanks.

[Fumesucker]

10. See post #5

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Of course this has nothing to do with it

[Marr]

32. I expect this study is going to be very regularly cited by political pundits--

especially self-described "centrists".

We tend to grab onto narratives that allow us to ignore very obvious, but uncomfortable, facts.

[el_bryanto]

6. That's why 1 in 10 posts at DU say something like "Am I the only one who . . . . "

Even though it's nearly always an idea that I've read 100 times before.

Bryant

[Fumesucker]

9. You may have read the idea, unlikely to see it on the M$M or hear it in real life

That's pretty much the point, liberals are to a big extent excluded from the political conversation by The Very Serious People in the Liberal Media so we often end up feeling all alone even if we read others of like minds on line.

[el_bryanto]

14. Yes - but these are often people with high post counts - people who clearly have been here

and people who should realize that at DU their opinions are common.

Bryant

[Fumesucker]

16. But they don't *feel* common because of the fact that we don't hear those ideas in real life

Online it was obvious there was significant liberal pushback to the Dubya agenda, in my real life there was anything but.

Which is how I ended up at DU, but that's another story.

Conservatives get constant reinforcement, talk radio, Fox News, the M$M and Republican politicians all praise conservatives and conservatism.

Liberals get called fornicating mentally challenged by Democrats.

[ancianita]

19. +1

[okaawhatever]

8. Aside from the Koch money, the gotp has voters who are authoritarian in nature. They do what

they're told. They're used to being told what to do. Let's face it, that makes it much easier for the leader of a party. Like an electorate of Pavlov's dogs, they salivate when they hear that bell and don't even know it and can't stop it.

[TreasonousBastard]

11. Seems to me that both movements are fading away...

teabaggery a bit slower, though.

And while the uniqueness/consensus thing falls in with what I observe regularly, I would say the basic premises of both movements have a lot to do with their popularity and staying power:

Liberals-- what can you do for the planet, the poor, everyone and everything else...

Conservatives-- what can you do for yourself

Taking care of Number One always wins in the end.

[treestar]

33. Add to that the old saying people vote their pocketbooks

According to their interests, so the average person thinks of his/her job and if it's a job that for example pollutes, can make the excuse they need to feed their family. They're not going to vote to have that job eliminated to protect the planet.

[Rex]

13. The Tea Party succeeded in shutting down the govt and costing us billions of dollars

The OWS movement is buying off debt and saving families and homes. But yeah, people can believe this fantasy about the TP being some uber successful movement and OWS as a punch of dirty hippies...whatever.

That horse long ago left the barn.

[okaawhatever]

17. Well, I do think what they said in the article about the tea party shooting itself in the foot in

the long run by having a platform the majority doesn't agree with is dead on. The tea party has worked very hard to do something very few want. Trouble is, they don't recognize the radical nature of their ideas or the lack of support for them. That was sort of a light bulb moment for me. I knew the tea party was successful because of the money put into it, and the authoritarian nature of it's members, but the final piece is.....they actually believe the majority agree with them (or would if they only knew the whole truth, LOL)

[Puzzledtraveller]

18. I believe all our premises are naturally flawed

but only because I see that as the general state of being human which is why ego is so hard to overcome.

[ancianita]

21. Maybe a big difference is that liberals know their flaws and the teas don't? Which affects

each group's growth rate through inclusion. The authoritarian group has to 'train up' its new members, usually its own youth, and the liberal group just lives with and sorts out differences among new members as it goes.

[ck4829]

22. "succeeded in gaining lasting traction"... It helps when you have corporate backing.

[The2ndWheel]

23. Funny

Liberals display a false uniqueness, yet are geared more toward the collective effort. Conservatives display a false consensus, yet are geared more toward the individual effort. So what we think, but end up doing, are different from each other?

We're all different, but we're all the same.

[Ron Green]

24. The fear-based message, operating in the lower brain,

is more immediate and therefore easier to push by propagandists. I can see how fearful people would think this is what "most people" believe.

The love-based message, though, is forebrain stuff. People who do the brainwork to get there don't hear it supported in the media (or even in church, where it ought to live), so they might think they're alone in wanting to make a better world.

[MrScorpio]

26. That sounds exactly right to me. nt

[Ian David]

27. I'm the only one who read this article. n/t

[bhikkhu]

37. What - we were supposed to rear the article?!

[riderinthestorm]

38. Yeah, you and me both. I'm looking at the comments and wondering the same... nt

[Marr]

29. Laughable comparison.

The Tea Party attained national traction when it was 30 diabetics with teabags stapled to their hats because they were pushing *corporate propaganda*, and corporate news outlets naturally help that along.

Occupy (which drew exponentially larger crowds), was physically, forcibly set upon and smashed from all sides by both local and federal government forces, likely at the behest of the same interests that financed the Tea Party.

The study's findings may offer an interesting insight into these general types, but I do think the Occupy/Tea Party comparison was quite ludicrous.

[bhikkhu]

36. Soooo...conservatives think most people agree with them, which is proven false

and liberals think most people disagree with them, which is also proven false.

Interesting way to look at it, and definitely something to think about. My first reaction to the headline was that it must be some rubbish ploy to generate "clicks", but on reading it through - interesting. How is it not encouraging?

[IronLionZion]

39. I'm the only one who is unique

the rest of you are all different!

The left in general and DUers in particular are very likely to behave like brave revolutionaries fighting fascist oppression for every little thing.


I'm the only one who believes this.