Thread: Conservative?? See Dr. Phil

Study of Bush's psyche touches a nerve

Julian Borger in Washington
Wednesday August 13, 2003
The Guardian

A study funded by the US government has concluded that conservatism can be explained psychologically as a set of neuroses rooted in "fear and aggression, dogmatism and the intolerance of ambiguity".
As if that was not enough to get Republican blood boiling, the report's four authors linked Hitler, Mussolini, Ronald Reagan and the rightwing talkshow host, Rush Limbaugh, arguing they all suffered from the same affliction.

All of them "preached a return to an idealised past and condoned inequality".

Republicans are demanding to know why the psychologists behind the report, Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition, received $1.2m in public funds for their research from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

The authors also peer into the psyche of President George Bush, who turns out to be a textbook case. The telltale signs are his preference for moral certainty and frequently expressed dislike of nuance.

"This intolerance of ambiguity can lead people to cling to the familiar, to arrive at premature conclusions, and to impose simplistic cliches and stereotypes," the authors argue in the Psychological Bulletin.

One of the psychologists behind the study, Jack Glaser, said the aversion to shades of grey and the need for "closure" could explain the fact that the Bush administration ignored intelligence that contradicted its beliefs about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

The authors, presumably aware of the outrage they were likely to trigger, added a disclaimer that their study "does not mean that conservatism is pathological or that conservative beliefs are necessarily false".

Another author, Arie Kruglanski, of the University of Maryland, said he had received hate mail since the article was published, but he insisted that the study "is not critical of conservatives at all". "The variables we talk about are general human dimensions," he said. "These are the same dimensions that contribute to loyalty and commitment to the group. Liberals might be less intolerant of ambiguity, but they may be less decisive, less committed, less loyal."

But what drives the psychologists? George Will, a Washington Post columnist who has long suffered from ingrained conservatism, noted, tartly: "The professors have ideas; the rest of us have emanations of our psychological needs and neuroses."

Well that was a waste of $1.2 million.

Tell me something I don't know, docs.

I think conservatives are "intolerant of ambiguity" and "dislike nuance" because they're too stupid to understand complexity. I think a separate study should be done comparing IQs of liberals and conservatives.

Oh thats a good post....I was getting a little discouraged here...
Happy Cat

Howdy XTC,

I believe in moral certainy and 'shades of gray',is just an excuse to compromise with Evil(satan).

I had it literally beaten into me as child,that we are reponsible for all of our choices and actions,whereas,I find that liberals use every excuse that they can think of,to avoid personal responsibility. Most often,the excuse of a bad childhood is used,to excuse the actions of adults and children,when they commit crimes against other folks.

Have a good one....

again with the IQ comments.too funny.thats it,you guys are just smarter than the rest of the world.have you punks havent even gone to college?

i would bet you wouldnt like the results of such a test and would then find a way to make up another test??lol.

Originally Posted by amsterdam

again with the IQ comments.too funny.thats it,you guys are just smarter than the rest of the world.have you punks havent even gone to college?

i would bet you wouldnt like the results of such a test and would then find a way to make up another test??lol.

I don't really agree with the study either, but I thought I just post it for shit and giggles. Same rule applies to "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder". All of it is BS. Just different people, with different views.

very true.you know that guy isnt a psychologist or a psychiatrist?he has gotten rich blowin smoke up peoples ass!if you cant make it in america,you arent gonna make it anywhere.

Originally Posted by amsterdam

again with the IQ comments.too funny.thats it,you guys are just smarter than the rest of the world.have you punks havent even gone to college?

i would bet you wouldnt like the results of such a test and would then find a way to make up another test??lol.

HAHAHAHAHA that is too funny!!! Silly, that is just what Bush did when he was Gov. in Texas with his no child left behind, he set up more tests and then tests for the tests! you are a riot and you have no clue.....I'm gonna have fun here....
laughing Cat

Originally Posted by Torog

I believe in moral certainy and 'shades of gray',is just an excuse to compromise with Evil(satan).

That's right, all you centrists; you're a bunch of Satanists! Compromise is the way of the devil and only the unflinching will find heaven.

If anyone ever needs a reason as to why I will never be a Christian, there it is.

what a shame.