[piasa]

Your brain changes over time, too, of course.

[Tublecane]

“You brain changes over time, too, of course”

Okay, let’s say it changes with your ideology, and in predictanle patterns. Did it cause your politics to change, or did your changing politics change it? Or did it slowly evolve along with your thoughts? Or did your experience change your brain and your brain change your politics, or your experience change your politics and they both change your brain, or what?

How would we ever know?

[Vanders9]

All that has happened here is that they have detected a vague correlation between certain areas of the brain and a welter of vague, self-determined political stances. (Notice that the subjects themselves are doing the rating - what I consider "very conservative" or "mostly liberal" is my personal estimation - it will not accord exactly to what someone else thinks.)

Aside from the fact that any conclusions based on a study of the brain should be treated with caution (it is, after all, easily the single most complex thing known to our science), I think that people could be falling into the classic cause and effect trap here. Somebody finds an alleged difference in the brain structure of liberals and conservatives and everyone assumes that means people are born with "predispositions" to certain types of behavior. And of course, it gives plenty of scope for jokes about "brainless liberals"! :)

But, could it not equally be the other way round? As has been said by other posters, the brain does change and develop over time, so maybe its not that your brain structure determines your political "predisposition" but that holding certain viewpoints causes the development of certain areas of the brain? The evidence of this study supports that contention equally as well.

[Windflier]

Your brain changes over time, too, of course.

If that's true, then why are my parents, and all of my siblings still Democrats?