Well we know historically that psychology can be used as a manipulative, controlling tool. For example, how drapetomania was at one point proposed as a mental illness to explain slaves fleeing captivity. This isn’t to say “none of psychological study is real” - I even made a point of centering my criticism on the US specifically to try to help make it clear that I’m not trying to be discarding of the field of psychology as a whole.
But neither should we take an interpretation of an alleged psychological observation at face value. Notice I say interpretation, not observation alone because I’m trying to make an important distinction here. It is one thing, for example, to observe that depression is a real phenomenon. It would be a whole other thing to say that depression in the US is caused by a lack of wild pandas in national parks.
Which brings me to the matter of correlation and causation. It is possible that studies have observed a correlation between USian conservatives and brains that are physically more associated with fear responses. This doesn’t necessarily mean the one is related to the other.
I don’t believe you are defending democrats or something. My points are about the narrative as I understand it, it’s nothing personal.
I purposefully toned down myself, and yet I still feel bad like I jumped down your throat. You are very cordial and matter of fact and I appreciate that. Thank you. I gotta grab a coffee and take a break.
Well we know historically that psychology can be used as a manipulative, controlling tool. For example, how drapetomania was at one point proposed as a mental illness to explain slaves fleeing captivity. This isn’t to say “none of psychological study is real” - I even made a point of centering my criticism on the US specifically to try to help make it clear that I’m not trying to be discarding of the field of psychology as a whole.
But neither should we take an interpretation of an alleged psychological observation at face value. Notice I say interpretation, not observation alone because I’m trying to make an important distinction here. It is one thing, for example, to observe that depression is a real phenomenon. It would be a whole other thing to say that depression in the US is caused by a lack of wild pandas in national parks.
Which brings me to the matter of correlation and causation. It is possible that studies have observed a correlation between USian conservatives and brains that are physically more associated with fear responses. This doesn’t necessarily mean the one is related to the other.
I don’t believe you are defending democrats or something. My points are about the narrative as I understand it, it’s nothing personal.
You have very fair points. I feel like generally we agree more than disagree on this.
Probably so.
I purposefully toned down myself, and yet I still feel bad like I jumped down your throat. You are very cordial and matter of fact and I appreciate that. Thank you. I gotta grab a coffee and take a break.
No worries, I appreciate you being candid about it. Take care!