Political Preference Is Half Genetic

[babylonsister]

http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/070524_ideological_leaning.html

Political Preference Is Half Genetic

By Melinda Wenner, Special to LiveScience

Whether you prefer Rush Limbaugh or Keith Olbermann has to do with your genes and your psychology, according to a new study.

People who are more conscientious and prefer order, structure and closure in their lives tend to be more conservative, whereas creative people who are open to new experiences tend to be more politically liberal, says John Jost, a psychologist at New York University who conducted an overview of previous studies involving a total of more than 22,000 participants from 12 countries.

But that psychological profile only pulls half the weight when it comes to determining people's politics, his review showed. The other half is genetic, as is revealed in studies of twins and their political bent, Jost says.

Politics in America

A number of sociologists have argued that political ideology died in America after World War II because both the left and the right wing were heavily discredited at the time.

Jost says the latest research shows the opposite, that politics in America today are very much alive. His previous research has suggested, for example, that more than 90 percent of college students can identify where their political beliefs fit on a scale running from the "left" (liberal) to the "right" (conservative), and that their affiliations strongly influence how they vote in elections.

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[UTUSN]

1. Thank ZEUS!!1 I'm on the CORRECT side!!1 n/t

[Redstone]

2. Bullshit.

Redstone

[RC]

3. Why?

It has been proven that in liberals and conservatives respond differently. Through MRI's, different parts of the brain light up in response to various scenarios involving violence, sex, political view points, etc.