Friday, October 22, 2004
THEY HAVE DEGREES ... IN (SOCIAL) SCIENCE!
I came across a disturbing report of the Association of Politics and Life Sciences's recent in-depth examination of the psychopathology of conservatism (Ronald Baily of Reason summarizes the issue presented as "What is wrong with people who disagree with the mainstream of American academic social scientists?")
To aid in the analysis, a Right Wing Authoritarian (RWA) Scale was developed which identifies those harboring authoritarian tendencies. Shockingly, high scorers on this scale tended to be Republicans, while low scorers were found to be "fair-minded, even-handed, tolerant, nonaggressive persons...They score low on my prejudice scale. They are not self-righteous; they do not feel superior to persons with opposing opinions." In other words, left-wingers.
On the minus side, another study found low scoring left wingers (also often known as "Democrats") are more likely than high scorers to fake an orgasm and less likely to be satisfied with their relationships or sex lives.
Taking these "studies" as seriously as I do, I require and demand an explanation!
To aid in the analysis, a Right Wing Authoritarian (RWA) Scale was developed which identifies those harboring authoritarian tendencies. Shockingly, high scorers on this scale tended to be Republicans, while low scorers were found to be "fair-minded, even-handed, tolerant, nonaggressive persons...They score low on my prejudice scale. They are not self-righteous; they do not feel superior to persons with opposing opinions." In other words, left-wingers.
On the minus side, another study found low scoring left wingers (also often known as "Democrats") are more likely than high scorers to fake an orgasm and less likely to be satisfied with their relationships or sex lives.
Taking these "studies" as seriously as I do, I require and demand an explanation!
