Nervous people 'are likely to be right-wing'.

This is hysterical.

Republicans and right wing bloggers always like to portray themselves as brave. They see themselves as courageously defending the Iraq war (from behind the safety of their keyboards, mind you) whilst cowardly Democrats attempt to throw in the towel.

New research, reported in the journal Science, says that precisely the opposite is true. People of a nervous disposition are actually far more likely to endorse right wing policies than a calmer person would.

People who are easily startled by loud bangs or gruesome pictures are more likely to vote for right-wing policies compared to calmer people who take a more liberal approach to life, according to a psychological study of political beliefs.

[...]

"Subjects with measurably lower physical sensitivities to sudden noises and threatening images were more likely to support foreign aid, liberal immigration policies, pacifism and gun control," Dr Hibbing said.

"Whereas individuals displaying measurably higher physiological reactions to those same stimuli were more likely to favour defence spending, capital punishment, patriotism and the Iraq war," he said. Physiological responses that were monitored included the electrical conductivity of the skin – measuring sweat production – and the amount of eye-blinking after a loud noise. Such responses are not under conscious control and are considered good indicators of a person's overall nervous disposition.

They were shown three threatening images – a large spider on a frightened face, a dazed individual covered in blood and an open wound filled with maggots – interspersed with neutral images and three non-threatening images, such as a bowl of fruit and a happy child.

The scientists believe the findings support the belief that political attitudes reflect the way a person deals with potential threats.

So that's why Bush has had such success by pushing the policies of fear. Deep down these supposed typists for freedom are simply a bunch of cry babies who jump at the merest noise.

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Tags: Republicans, Democrats, fear