Daily French Roast

Anne is reading …

Wired magazine presents Human Nature and the Neurobiology of Conflict, a Nebraska study focused on how liberals and conservatives process the same information. Brain science is a high-value topic at AOC.

In this case Michael Dodd of the U of Nebraska wanted to explore how conservatives and liberals process images alternately disgusting (spiders on faces, open wounds) and appealing (smiling children, cute rabbits.) “Dodd’s team found that conservatives reacted most strongly to negative images, and liberals most strongly to positive photographs.”

When turning their attention to politicians the results held.

Conservatives displayed more distaste than liberals for politicians they disliked, while liberals felt more positive than conservatives about politicians they liked. Given these and other findings, wrote Dodd’s team, “those on the political right and those on the political left may simply experience the world differently.”

Related articles:

Liberals Have Different Dopamine Gene, More Friends Say Scientists AOC Apple Valley

In other research, scientists at UCLA and New York University found a specific region of the brain’s cortex that is more sensitive in people who consider themselves liberals rather than conservatives.

Analyzing the data, Sulloway said liberals were 4.9 times more likely than conservatives to show activity in the brain circuits that deal with conflicts and were 2.2 times more likely to score in the top half of the distribution for accuracy.

Inquiring Minds | Liberals and Atheists Have Higher IQs AOC Apple Valley

Self-Reflecting Human Consciousness Tied To Prefrontal Cortex Grey Matter AOC Apple Valley

Americans Maintain Four Different Views of God AOC Apple Valley

More DFR

Color China Photo, via Associated Press An explosion last May at a Foxconn factory in Chengdu, China, killed four people and injured 18. It built iPads. Color China Photo via APOur AOC Apple Valley channel is named in honor of Steve Jobs and the values of the Apple brand. Anne is an Apple person to the core.

It’s distressing to read, then, the intensive New York Times article Apple’s iPad and the Human Costs for Workers in China. The article comes at a time when Apple reported one of the most lucrative quarters of any corporation in history, with $13.6 billion in profits off sales of $46.3 billion.

Early in this seven-page article, the point is made that a radical overhaul of the supplier system would slow down innovation. “Customers want amazing new electronics delivered every year.” That makes us part of the problem.

The article centers on Foxconn, one of Apple’s biggest suppliers in China. Provided in advance to Apple for comments, the company did not respond to the NYT article. One knowledgeable consultant says “Companies like H.P. and Intel and Nike push their suppliers. But Apple wants to keep an arm’s length, and Foxconn is their most important manufacturer, so they refuse to push.”

Only customers can demand change from Apple concludes the article. In terms of consumer segmentation, the values group we call the Cultural Creatives — who tend to be Apple customers — and our AOC subset of the CC’s called Smart Sensuality women (and men) are most likely to take the lead in any future customer love demands from Apple. We track these issues in our Apple Valley channel.

Priests Gone Rogue

In Austria Helmut Schüller’s Preachers’ Initiative is gaining momentum and widespread support, causing the highest representatives of the Catholic Church to visit the Vatican for a pow wow on what to do next with the rebellious priests. About 400 Catholic priests have joined the movement, which is supported by the majority of Catholics in Austria, and calls itself ‘disobedient’ of the Vatican.

The Preachers’ Initiative wants the Vatican to allow Austrian priests to give Holy Communion to divorced people. The rebellious group also want female priests in the Catholic Church and an abolition of celibacy. Its founder says this is the year the group will go international. via Austrian Independent.