Transcript: 

Which do you consider more important? Equality or Patriotism? Compassion or Societal Order? Which do you prefer, dogs or cats? 

My name is Shaun McMillan, and today we are talking about personality and political ideologies. 

Through personality tests and questions about preferences we can often tell which side of the political spectrum people fall into. For just a general idea about political ideologies, most people usually fall into the left also known as liberal, the right also known as conservative, or the center. 

Basic American Politics

The left liberal side of the spectrum, at least in contemporary American politics, is associated with the Democratic party or blue states. The right conservative side of the spectrum, is associated with the Republican party or red states. 

There is a tendency at the far ends of the distribution for one side to see the other as evil. For example I had two grandfathers growing up. My mother’s father or my maternal grandfather was a staunch Republican who watched Fox News everyday and believed that all liberals were evil. My father’s father, or my paternal grandfather, is a staunch liberal and believes that all conservatives from his generation are racists. 

I myself am a centrist, meaning in this case that I think both of them are ridiculous for their failure to understand the other half of the country seeing their opponents as either stupid, evil, or both. 

One theory is that the two sides simply do not share the same values. Liberals are thought to value equality, compassion, and embrace change. This makes them the more progressive party. Conservatives value patriotism, security, and authority structures like institutions which preserve older traditions. 

The Ideal World

It basically comes down to a difference of opinion about what is the best way to bring about the ideal world. People with different values will have different opinions both about what a more ideal world would look like, and how to achieve that more ideal world. 

Immigration as an example

For instance, on the issue of immigration, liberalism values equality, openness, and diversity. To people with these values a more ideal world is one where different peoples from different cultures can easily exchange ideas and have access to more resources. Border security is not high on their list of priorities. The democratic party usually advocates for less restrictions on immigration and compassionate treatment of immigrants. 

Conservatism on the other hand values patriotism, security, and preserving one’s cultural traditions. To people with these values a more ideal world is one where one’s family is protected from the threat of counter-cultural influences. The Republican party usually advocates for using authority structures to secure the borders. 

Not everyone falls to one extreme or the other. For me personally, both sides appear to have different but valid points of view. They are like Yin and Yang, both equally opposite but necessary modes of being in the world. I believe the tension between them is what helps keep the world stable. 

You might be wondering why is Shaun explaining something so basic? Doesn’t everyone know this already? While I would agree, I also think we don’t really take the time to appreciate the basics when it comes to things we think we know. Especially when it comes to subjects that can be as divisive as politics. If you are on one side, you might not really appreciate the other side as well as you think you do. 

We Are In Each Other’s Blindspot

Earlier I mentioned three values of liberalism and three values of conservatism. If you would describe yourself as conservative can you recall what values I labeled as important to those on the left? Do you think of equality, diversity, and progressive as ideals or as fighting words? 

If you would describe yourself as a liberal, can you recall what values I labelled as important to those on the right? Do you think of patriotism, authority structures, institutions, and traditional values as ideals or as fighting words? 

I ask because we are really good, perhaps even evolved to be blind to most of the world, some of which is considered far more important to others. 

AI Teaches Robots What Not to See

In the world of robotics, AI scientists found it was very difficult to teach robots how to see the world. It appears that half of the brain’s computing power is devoted to seeing the world, or perhaps we could more accurately say, not seeing most of the world. There is so much visual data in the world taken in by our eyes, but human beings have the amazing ability to pick and choose from the millions of different details, and pick out the visual info that actually matters. Do you remember what the pattern on the floor was in the last room you were in, or the color of the walls? Our eyes don’t see everything all the time, we see only what we choose to focus on. We see and find what we consciously look for, and unconsciously ignore everything else. 

There is a great video by some scientists researching selective perception that points this out if you have ever seen it. I’ll post the link to this video in the show notes. Click on the link and tell me how many times the white team passes the ball. 

If you are familiar with this experiment then watch the 2nd video instead. 

Now tell me whether or not you noticed the man in the gorilla suit? Yes, no? As much as half of uninformed participants totally miss the man in the gorilla suit. Why? Because our brains are so extremely good at narrow mindedly seeing only what it looks for that it can completely ignore what is right in front of our eyes. If you don’t value something, you won’t see it. Further research has shown that even if people know something surprising will be there, they still are no better at noticing it. It’s to the point that two people in the same place at the same time won’t see the same things. Not only because they don’t share the same perspective, literally, but they also don’t focus on or ignore the same things. We all have different lenses and different filters through which we see the world. 

The Correlation Between Personality Traits and Political Views

There is also some research that implies political views might also correlate with differences in personality. The big 5 personality traits that emerge statistically from empirical personality tests suggests that people who identify as liberal seem to be high in openness but low in conscientiousness. It also suggests the opposite, that conservatives might be low in openness and high in conscientiousness. So now you are asking yourself, what is openness and conscientiousness?

Openness

Openness simply means being open to new ideas. Creative people who create new innovations and entrepreneurs who create new markets are typically high in openness. Liberals are also known as progressives meaning they advocate for new ideas or changing the commonly accepted norms. 

Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness is a combination of orderliness and industriousness. Orderliness is associated with cleanliness, structure, and how organized you are. These are people with a strong sense of order and want things in their proper place. Industriousness applies to people who put a lot of pressure on themselves to be productive, people who are timely, and detail oriented. Together, orderliness and industriousness determine how conscientious you are. 

If you think about schools, school rewards conscientiousness. Can you get all of your work done, on time, in detail, on a regular basis? Schools do not reward creativity or even deep learning for that matter. They reward orderliness and industriousness. How much can you do the things you have been told to do, and can you do them according to detailed instructions, on time, and perfectly the first time you try?

But of course not everyone falls into one of these two extremes. I for example, now that I am no longer an adolescent, am high in both openness and conscientiousness. Maybe that’s why, in terms of politics, I am both extremely conservative and extremely liberal. Yet how can that be? Like every human being, I am a walking contradiction. 

We don’t all share the same views, the same values, or the same personality traits, but we do have to share the same world, so let’s extend a little patience to one another, and try to see through other people’s eyes what we ourselves fail to see on our own. 

Have you ever had your own blindspot pointed out to you, or gotten into a frustrating discussion with someone you thought shared your views? Share with us your experience in the comments or feel free to visit me at www.BestClassEver.org.