Just a quick update on a previous post about the new study about how we keep our heads from exploding when we receive information contrary to our strongly held opinions and beliefs. The Washington Post also published an article about the study, and you can read it here for free (unlike The New York Times.)
Excerpt:
When presented with negative information about the candidates they liked, partisans of all stripes found ways to discount it, Westen said. When the unpalatable information was rejected, furthermore, the brain scans showed that volunteers gave themselves feel-good pats — the scans showed that “reward centers” in volunteers’ brains were activated. The psychologist observed that the way these subjects dealt with unwelcome information had curious parallels with drug addiction as addicts also reward themselves for wrong-headed behavior.
Weird. What this study suggests is that, when you tell a die-hard Bush supporter about what a terrible job the president is doing and you back it up with irrefutable facts, it makes the person feel better.
Sweet Jane.
Story link via This Modern World.
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