Solution Aversion - Why "they" don't see common sense

[knapplc]

Ever wonder why the solution you bring up in a thread is systematically denied by people whose political ideology is different, no matter how obvious and common-sense the solution is?

 

Duke University researchers wondered this, too. So they did a study on it. Turns out your solution may not be so crazy or far-fetched after all. Also turns out that those on the other side of the spectrum may never agree to it, regardless of how much plain logic you provide.

 

 

Denying Problems When We Don’t Like the Solutions

 

Durham, NC - There may be a scientific answer for why conservatives and liberals disagree so vehemently over the existence of issues like climate change and specific types of crime.

 

For climate change, the researchers conducted an experiment to examine why more Republicans than Democrats seem to deny its existence, despite strong scientific evidence that supports it.

One explanation, they found, may have more to do with conservatives' general opposition to the most popular solution -- increasing government regulation -- than with any difference in fear of the climate change problem itself, as some have proposed.

Participants in the experiment, including both self-identified Republicans and Democrats, read a statement asserting that global temperatures will rise 3.2 degrees in the 21st century. They were then asked to evaluate a proposed policy solution to address the warming.

When the policy solution emphasized a tax on carbon emissions or some other form of government regulation, which is generally opposed by Republican ideology, only 22 percent of Republicans said they believed the temperatures would rise at least as much as indicated by the scientific statement they read.

But when the proposed policy solution emphasized the free market, such as with innovative green technology, 55 percent of Republicans agreed with the scientific statement.

 

..............

 

"Recognizing this effect is helpful because it allows researchers to predict not just what problems people will deny, but who will likely deny each problem,” said co-author Aaron Kay, an associate professor at Fuqua. “The more threatening a solution is to a person, the more likely that person is to deny the problem.”

The researchers found liberal-leaning individuals exhibited a similar aversion to solutions they viewed as politically undesirable in an experiment involving violent home break-ins. When the proposed solution called for looser versus tighter gun-control laws, those with more liberal gun-control ideologies were more likely to downplay the frequency of violent home break-ins.

 

 

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We've all witnessed this, we've all done it, and we've all been frustrated by how "they" don't agree with our obvious solutions. I think this applies not only to politics, but to the religious debates we have here.

 

This isn't to say we should close this forum, shutter the doors and stop discussing this stuff. But maybe it'll help us all understand why our ideas are being met the way they are, and how we can react to them.

[True2tRA]

I'm glad they studied this, and I'm sure there have been others, but to me this is one of those blatantly obvious things about the Republican party and a large reason why I despise most hardcore conservatives.

 

The issue I deal with daily and am most involved with personally is the medical marijuana movement. It's just another fine example of money driven politics but also a refusal to accept science and alter old ingrained ways of thought. Medical marijuana has scientifically proven benefits that can't be argued. They can't be debated. Yet this is such a politicized matter it frustrates the hell out of me. My family has been on four different news stations pleading for donors and recognition for our cause. What is our cause? To save my sons life or improve his quality of life with what has become a very effective epilepsy treatment alternative.

 

I really wanted to stay away from the political conversation as much as I could in these interviews. This is about saving people's lives, there's nothing political about it right? Wrong. It's become such a heated debate in this country and from where I sit it just seems like there's nothing to debate. If you can save someones life or make them feel better, then you do it. No politics involved. But this "M" word is so horrible and scary for some.

 

My son takes medications that do more harm to his body than cannabis ever could. He's on meds that are habit forming. He's on meds that delay his learning process. Yet these meds are approved, sold in pharmacies, and make some people a lot of money. Just listen to a drug commercial anymore. The side effects you risk just so you can get aroused for four hours, but life changing, grown from "God's Green Earth" marijuana is the devil. Where's the common sense in that?

 

People are so uneducated and many refuse to be educated let alone ever alter their opinion on the matter. No matter what evidence. I'm not afraid to label it a Republican party thing either, I tell them right to their faces now because I've realized it isn't even about doing the right thing for them. It isn't about helping people that need it. It's about sticking to their guns for the sake of not "backing down" from their beliefs. What the hell kind of way is that to be? People grow, evolutionist, learn and change all the time, every day. Why does that side seem to refuse to move along with the rest of the country? Why do logical people who think with an open heart and common sense not get out and vote? I believed we were turning a corner in this country, but these mid term elections scare me. Some of these Republicans that won positions in this government are my definition of lunatics. People voted for them?!

 

Now Nebraska, I've realized a long time ago, we are the last to move forward. We may never catch up. Some people think that's a good thing, "the good life" we call it. Well what kind of good life are people in this state living when this states leaders and voting population refuse to take even a common sense step forward by helping another human being who is suffering a disease?

[gobiggergoredder]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgv0j6LT7c8

[tschu]

[TGHusker]

Good post Knapp. I think this is so true in most 'debates'. You are someone else had a similar thread a while ago talking about how liberals approach a problem and how conservatives approach a problem. Where the debate goes bad is when we start to label each others as .... (liberal communist to tea bagger) Most people have a desire to 'fix' a problem but we often come at it from different angles. Sometimes our filters get in the way of seeing the other position.