'Cry Baby' Study Has Blogs Bawling

CBS News ^ | March 29, 2006

[presidio9]

The usual suspects are crying out about a study suggesting whiny babies become conservative adults. Plus, bloggers herald news of 8.5 million Chinese moving into cities. And, are comic book publishers keeping a super hero from the public?

Oh Baby!

It's been a busy couple of weeks for social scientists. This week, psychologist Jack Block's controversial study is heating up the blogosphere, making it one of the most-cited news stories of the week.

Block's study began in the 1960's when he began tracking over 100 nursery school kids in Berkely, California as part of a study of personality. Teachers and assistants who had known the kids for months rated the children's personalities.

A few decades later, Block followed up with more surveys, and this time, also looked at politics. What did he find? The "whiny kids" tended to grow up conservative, becoming rigid young adults who also adhered closely to traditional gender roles. The confident kids, however, turned out to be politically liberal, transforming into bright, non-conforming adults.

Block's findings did not surprise many conservative bloggers who hardly think Berkeley babies are a random sample. Michelle Malkin quotes an anonymous tipster who raises the point that "ALL of the children in that study were the offspring of U.C. Berkeley professors, lecturers, and staff members. The reason the Child Study Center is so popular is that they offer free/cheap child care/nursery schooling in exchange for the parents allowing their kids to be 'studied' by psychologists all day every day."

Tiny’s Republican seconds that. "My first reaction is great, as long as they grow up conservative I don't care what they are like as kids," he writes. "Then I read the story...oh big surprise that this 'study'…was done by Berkeley profs and according to the article 95% of the 100-ish kids tracked grew up in Berkeley. I love how they describe those who became conservative as 'rigid!' Of course personality traits of the non-conservatives sound nice!"

And Coalition of the Swilling couldn't agree more. "Whenever I read stuff like this I'm reminded more and more of the old Soviet Science Academies and the 'facts' they would churn out. But maybe I should just quit whining..."

Others are instantly suspicious of any Berkeley study, never mind one about professors' babies. Speakspook writes, "Anything UC Berkeley comes up with is immediately suspect. If however, the study is valid, it would be an indication that whiny children grow up to be well adjusted adults with a positive outlook on life, while confident kids grow up to be unprincipled, amoral, ranting liberals."

Mike Stockinger on Uncorrelated writes, "The reality is that the Berkeley study has no bearing on people's political affiliations. Some Democrats are, in terms of the study, 'conservatives,' and many Republicans are 'liberal.' I do know a few whiny 'conservatives,' but most of the whining I hear always seems to come from self-identified 'liberals' er-r-r, I mean 'progressives'."

Liberal bloggers are not surprised by the findings either, albeit for different reasons. Liberal blogger John Aravosis at AMERICAblog writes, "What do Bill Frist, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Limbaugh, George Will, Dr. Laura, the Republican bloggers all have in common? Whiny insecure brats. What do Republicans stand for anyway? They're bullies who need the government to either blow up or regulate everyone and everything they're afraid of, which is pretty much everything. Sound familiar? Whereas liberals are the well-adjusted kid, the nice guy, live and let live..."

[mvpel]

The confident kids, however, turned out to be politically liberal, transforming into bright, non-conforming adults.

[Skooz]

Block's study began in the 1960's when he began tracking over 100 nursery school kids in Berkely, California

That's all I need to know about this "study."

[Criminal Number 18F]

Even more than just "Berkeley," the kindergarten was open only to professors and staff of UCB.

Any kid that grew up conservative either was a child of the math or physics department, or rebelled against its parents.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[SouthJrzReaganite18]

I might piss and moan as a child if I had to listen to a Berkely professor all day and night at home too.

[P-Marlowe]

I suspect that if one did a scientific survey of the voter registration and party affiliation and political ideology of the residents of all the maximum security prisons, that the results would be quite predictable.

[geezerwheezer]

I think the good Dr. Block should add the word "head" to his last name. I did a study too, and found that 100% of criminals, bed wetters, wussies, creeps, dorks, dipsticks, tattletalers, wimps, draft-dodgers, protesters,activists, editorial writers, newspaper reporters, t.v. reporters, anti-American, anti-religion,pro abortion, pro womens' lib,anti-war, pro Gore,anti-Bush, pro-Dean, pro-Schumer, pro-Kennedy, pro-Clinton, people are democrats, until they get a real job and earn a real living, and have to do an honest day's work for an honest day's pay, then they suddenly become real conservatve and start voting Republican. I call this phenomenon "a reality check" on life in America.

[RightWingAtheist]

Thanks!

[IX0YE]

Dont you just love it when liberals come out with this cr@p. It's just another example of their departure from reality. Childhood behavior as an indicator of adulthood political leanings? Absolutely laughable.

[geezerwheezer]

Yet, you notice, the MSM picks up this crap ad runs it all over the t.v. and in the newspapers. Do make you wonder, don't it? Are they that afraid of folks that actually can think for themselves? Must be...

[presidio9]