So, the amygdala doesn't just impact fear response, it also does anger, anxiety, and stress. An overactive amygdala negatively impacts your ability to think clearly.
Just like alligators. They're so ornery because they have all them teeth and no toothbrush
Well looks like mama was wrong!
Which should mean that it would be implicated in conservative thought processes, being as they are so fear-and-anger-driven in everything they do.
it's a bit of a "chicken and egg" problem, but yes studies show that conservatives typically have an overactive amygdala. now, is it overactive because they're conservative, or are they conservative because it's overactive? hard to say.
HA HA take that COMMIE you're braver than me due to your genetic superiority! ^oh ^wait
I didn't have fascists scientifically proving that they're cowards on my 2026 bingo card.
It's still just as funny as the flat Earthers that keep accidentally proving that the Earth is round
It's still just as funny as the flat Earthers that keep accidentally proving that the Earth is round
Which is itself extra funny because I believe they both knew this and measured its circumference in ancient Egypt using two faraway towers, if I'm remembering that episode of Carl Sagan's Cosmos correctly.
Fun fact: Conservativism can be linked to Lead and/or Mercury exposure
Or brain damage
Without clicking I knew who you linked to.
There's no better man than Fetterman~as~ ~an~ ~example~ ~of~ ~brain~ ~damage~
Fear is, famously, an excellent impetus for rational decision-making. (/s just in case)
Fear and rage force you to use unreliable heuristics instead of critical thinking and analysis resulting in poorer choices, it's why so much propaganda relies on triggering those emotional states to get you to stop thinking and accept the message. Less fear in decision making is a beneficial mutation.
I've been saying this forever, but, like, these people really need to go back and reread Chicken Little. They're getting Fox News, getting scared, and reacting based off of what Fox is telling them, and not what the Chicken Little's are telling them.
The sky is not falling.
Take a deep breath, calm the fuck down, and chill. Everything's okay. As long as we stop freaking out.
Ha ha ha, Chicken Little is way above the reading level of most Conservatives.
I'm autistic and have an oversized amygdala but that doesn't stop me from being leftist. I just feel compassion for everyone human. Still struggling with the compassion for animals that I eat.
ironically i fear the SHIT out of right wingers, because they seem to actively want me to suffer before i die, for the crime of not being able to have a job
To be fair, they want everyone but themselves personally to suffer and die.
Veganism is my unattended moral compromise. I am positive that future generations will look at us and our factory farming and, aghast, see us as the monsters as we are - much like we look back at slaveowners, even those who were against the institution at the time.
Since I am not living in or near the wild and not hunting for my own food, it is clear to me that veganism is the only real moral choice, and yet I still participate.
I am complicit in this delightful supreme pizza and complicit in this breaded chicken sandwich.
Conservatives are more afraid of everything, and respond in anger. How the fuck is that "better"?
Those are “manly” emotions! But also don’t forget that we are better for running countries because we’re so calm and cool.
Ah, the typical nazi idea of correlating random body measurements with complex behavioral and emotional patterns.
Amygdala's wardrobe in "A Phantom Menace" was overactive
Amidalin.
Amygdalia.
A McDonalds.
A man
A plan
Amygdala
For the curious ones, from Psychology Today:
"A larger amygdala is primarily associated with increased anxiety, heightened emotional reactivity, and stress-related disorders, often acting as a hyper-active "threat detector" Symptoms frequently include persistent fearfulness, depression, irritability, and hypervigilance, as the brain over-processes neutral stimuli as threats."
Whoever made the original meme is an absolute moron.
I'M AFRAID OF EVERYTHING LIKE A REAL MAN!
Conservatives don't know anything about the person they voted for. They don't know anything about how their government functions. They don't know anything about their Constitution.
I promise they don't know what an amygdala is or what it does.
conservatives have a hyerptrophied amygdala due to always constantly feeling fear.
"Be afraid." We have people posting "Be afraid." with 0% irony.
What?
"I'm afraid more often and that's why I'm a terrible person!"
Since we're sharing fun facts, conservatism and authoritarianism is unsurprisingly correlated with high levels of obedience in things like the Milgrim shock experiment replications. Something akin to 90% compared to the original 60% (which was already quite high since they only had white men at the time).
They're also more likely to choose selfish options in things like the prisoners dilemma, too!
(Edit, if you wanna read more there's an open source textbook I use: https://opentextbc.ca/socialpsychology/ )
"I'm more scared than you!" Is a weird flex.
Ironic that right-wingers seem to be particularly enamoured of the “It’s afraid” meme then (doubly ironic that it’s from an anti-fascist parody).
The average American reads at an elementary school level, and many are functionally illiterate. Here is a case in point.
Stay close to the tree line. Learn to identify plants with poisonous oils. Stockpile the leaves that are like paper. If you must run a fire, use clean burning fuels, to avoid disclosing location. Dig a deep hole and build a privacy wall out of poisonous vines.
Edit that was for something else lol
Kazakhstan has superior amygdala. All other countries have inferior amygdala
I am guilty of thinking about the same thing when it comes to "Conservatives". I catch myself wondering if they are actually human or if they are all mentally retarded due to lead poisoning.
Around 40,000 to 50,000 years ago we had other species of humans running around with us, like Neanderthals and over a dozen other species if you go back further. These would have seemed like aliens to our ancestors. What if Conservatives are a slightly different version of human.
The lead poisoning thing actually makes sense for the Baby Boomer generationand Generation X. We used leaded gasoline during their lifetimes. These people could all be mentally deficient ... and we are letting them run the world when they should be in a mental hospital somewhere.**
We have social media instead of lead poisoning now where youtube algorithm tries pulling you into the alt-right pipeline bimonthly.
I'm a leftist and I have an anxiety disorder! Checkmate, conservatives
That would actually make a lot of sense.
And it's wild to brag about it.
Let's just say I get scared real easy.
Having enlarged and/or over active amygdalas would go a long way to explaining a lot of traits expressed by conservatives. That includes their fear of going to going to the grocery store without a gun on their hip.
I credit an intense compassion for animals and resulting veganism to my autism.
Just wanted to put that in this thread without making it a direct response to anyone. Sometimes it can be incredibly alienating and disconcerting to encounter people online who say they can't be vegan because they're autistic. It's a very diverse spectrum with a multitude of manifestations, and I'd like to go on record as proof that it swings toward positive outcomes and not only negative ones.
A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
Rules
This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
