Sunday, September 18, 2011

Do liberals and conservatives learn differently?


http://thyblackman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/liberal-the-same-way-as-a-conservative-2014.jpg

I recently read this really interesting study on the neuroscience of political leanings. It's a US-based study that looks at differences in the brains of liberals and conservatives. The study reveals that liberals tend to have a busier ACC - active anterior cingulate cortex (used for identifying and judging conflict and error) - while conservatives have a larger amygdala (used in development and storage of emotional memories). OK, so you need to read the details of the article to really understand what I'm getting at but could the findings be stretched to learning in general? Perhaps conservatives must personally identify to some extent with learning content, while liberals are better at discerning and selecting learning information that's relevant. Anyway, the upshot is that such studies pave the way for personalized learning that uses a fuller learner profile as a basis for tailoring learning to the individual.

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