“Republican brain was more oriented to tribal rules”
One can sense the liberal perjoritive in that statement. Tribalism is primitive while universal acceptance with out preconceptions is advanced. Yet all I have to do is to read twitter messages about how many ‘cracka asses are gong to be messed up” if they vote for Romney and it tells me just what sorts of folks are really living by “tribal rules”.
Now certain groups may indeed live by “tribal rules”...Jewish folks are very insular, often times for their own saftey. Strong Christians live by tribal rules, yet Christ has made it easy to join “the tribe”...so easy in fact much of the world choaks on that reality.
These researchers may be getting the “tribalism” thingy all wrong. I think all folks behave tribally, but studies may need to be geared towards how easily “tribes” of liberal or conservative mindsets may allow folks to join their particular groups and what sorts of social burdens are placed on the members in maintaining a continuing relationship with their “tribe”!
“what sort of social burdens are placed on the members...”
This is certainly the case in some Muslim countries where the price of leaving the Muslim “tribe” is death. On the other hand you have certain Christian tribes, I think the Amish, who have their young people go out in the world for a year, and then decide which life they wish to choose. Of course you also have the Jim Jones type of tribe which is as fatal as the worst Muslims. It can be really hard to leave Scientology too.