[quote=Common_Sense_Matters]Interesting attempt at rebuttal, the first link to prove your point is to a conservative tabloid that printed an article trying to refute the claim that conservatives are the psychotic ones and claiming that liberals are actually the psychotic party basing that assertion on a paper they failed to link to. They linked to the site the paper should be published on but not the actual paper. I did however find the paper on my own, just not on the website cited as it wasn't located there but on another site held by the site holder. While they did admit to an error in their original paper, they stated [b]"The error is important for descriptive purposes, but the main thesis of the paper, analyses, findings and theoretical contribution remain unchanged."[/p]. What that means is that their original findings remained intact despite their error, contrary to what the NY Post attempted to claim.
link being refuted:
https://nypost.com/2016/06/09/science-says-liberal-beliefs-are-linked-to-pyschotic-traits/Refuted link links to:
https://ajps.org (offered to those that want to see where the NYP article linked to)
Link to the retraction NYP tried to cite incorrectly:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ajps.12216I found the "MyNew24" to be even more backward though not surprisingly as it was an opinion piece written by someone that was obviously a very right wing conservative that has serious issues with liberals. Let's look at some interesting portions of this article.
"Doctor Adam Savage, a well-known radio commentator syndicated to 350 radio stations in the USA, actually wrote a book in 2005 called “Liberalism is a Mental Disorder”. He is also the author of numerous other titles dealing with psychological disorders. He identified certain instances that support his prognosis and which have in the interim been proven correct by the Occupy movement and the hysterics of the Democrats during last year’s Presidential election in the USA not to mention the antics of Femen and perpetually stupid groupings such as Pussy Riot (I wonder if they really had to debase themselves to get their message across)
• Expecting constant praise and admiration
• Being overly jealous of others’ achievements
• Expecting (no demanding) that others follow ideological plans
• Setting unrealistic goals
• A sense of entitlement
• Trouble maintaining healthy relationships
All of these symptoms seem to define an individual who is unable to express their frustration in a rational manner – like liberals do. The Mayo Clinic stated it best: “In order to make yourself feel better, you may react with rage or contempt and efforts to belittle the other person to make yourself appear better.”
In his book Doctor Savage ultimately identifies Narcissistic Personality Disorder as the cause of progressive liberalism."
How many of these supposedly "liberal" traits do we know for sure decsribe conservatives more accurately? Why don't we use Trump as test subject as he is well known and we have many examples of his behavior to take into consideration.
• Expecting constant praise and admiration
Have we seen Trump exhibiting this trait? Nearly EVERY time we have seen him in public he has shown this trait in spades.
• Being overly jealous of others’ achievements
With all the times that he insists on comparing himself with Obama and Trump's whole obsession with Obama overall, I would say this one is a lock.
• Expecting (no demanding) that others follow ideological plans
We have seen what happens with administration officials that disagree with Trump, next.
• Setting unrealistic goals
"We will build a big, beautiful wall and Mexico will pay for it". That and expecting to give tax breaks AND wipe out national debt entirely in let's say 2 terms, does anybody see that as an achievable goal?
• A sense of entitlement
Trump has always exhibited a massive sense of entitlement and for the most part, he has always gotten his way throughout life so was it justifiable? Perhaps, but now that he is president and dealing with foreign leaders and they AREN'T giving him his way...
• Trouble maintaining healthy relationships
Is Trump in his first marriage?, Okay, maybe his second marriage? Okay, okay, his third marriage, that doesn't really mean much does it? At least he has had stability in his administration and those he appoints, they stick around and remain loyal right?
Narcissism, would anybody accuse Trump of narcissism? Only those that know Trump.
How about another interesting segment of that article?
"Enter the Dunning-Kruger effect. “Dunning and Kruger noted earlier studies suggesting that ignorance of standards of performance is behind a great deal of incompetence. This pattern was seen in studies of skills as diverse as reading comprehension, operating a motor vehicle, and playing chess or tennis.
Dunning and Kruger proposed that, for a given skill, incompetent people will:
• tend to overestimate their own level of skill;
• fail to recognize genuine skill in others;
• fail to recognize the extremity of their inadequacy;
• recognize and acknowledge their own previous lack of skill, if they are exposed to training for that skill."
I look at that and see Trump in a nutshell. He is ALWAYS overestimating his own "level of skill", he frequently fails to recognize genuine skill in others and he NEVER recognizes the extremity of his own inadequacy. The only part that doesn't seem to suit Trump is the last part, "recognize and acknowledge their own previous lack of skill, if they are exposed to training for that skill.". I seriously doubt he EVER recognizes or acknowledges any lack of skill he has.
And another interesting part of this article.
"It is also my contention that progressive liberalism exhibits many of the traits of Sociopathic Personality Disorder as outlined below and identified by the FBI Behavioural Analysis Unit:
· Glibness and Superficial Charm
· Manipulative and Conning
· Grandiose Sense of Self - Feels entitled to certain things as "their right."
· Pathological Lying - Has no problem lying coolly and easily and it is almost impossible for them to be truthful on a consistent basis.
· Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt - A deep-seated rage, which is split off and repressed, is at their core. Does not see others around them as people, but only as targets and opportunities. The end always justifies the means and they let nothing stand in their way.
· Shallow Emotions - Outraged by insignificant matters, yet remaining unmoved and cold by what would upset a normal person.
· Need for Stimulation - Promiscuity and gambling are common.
· Callousness/Lack of Empathy - Unable to empathize with the pain of their victims, having only contempt for others' feelings of distress and readily taking advantage of them.
· Poor Behavioural Controls/Impulsive Nature -Rage and abuse, alternating a belief that they are all-powerful, all-knowing, entitled to every wish, no concern for their impact on others.
· Irresponsibility/Unreliability - Not concerned about wrecking others' lives and dreams. Oblivious or indifferent to the devastation they cause. Does not accept blame themselves, but blames others, even for acts they obviously committed.
· Promiscuous Sexual Behaviour – Promiscuity and sexual acting out of all sorts.
· Criminal or Entrepreneurial Versatility - Changes their image as needed to avoid prosecution. Changes life story readily when confronted.
· Contemptuous of those who seek to understand them - (and I’m sure I’ll receive a lot of contempt for this piece)
· Does not perceive that anything is wrong with them (Dunning-Kruger)
· Authoritarian – does not tolerate any opinions or points of view that differs from theirs. Total control at all times
· Secretive – the use of false Facebook profiles, anonymous campaigns and secret groups come to mind
· Paranoid – everyone that does not conform to his or her world view must be a member of some secret right wing grouping intent on subjugating the rest of the world into some white supremacist Utopia.
· Only rarely in difficulty with the law, but seeks out situations where their tyrannical behaviour will be tolerated, condoned, or admired
· Conventional appearance – yes they walk among us, look like us, talk like us
· Goal of enslavement (of their victim(s))
· Exercises despotic control over every aspect of societal life
· Ultimate goal is the creation of a willing victim – or in this case a willing victim mentality
· Extreme narcissism and grandiose
· May state readily that their goal is to rule the world – anyone familiar with George Soros and his history?"
Anybody with their eyes and minds open can relate this set with Trump, except the last point as Trump would never openly state that as it is socially unacceptable to state that you intend to "rule the world", or would he... Of course you must replace "right wing" with "left wing" in the "paranoid" point. Several of those points bring Trump's favorite phrase to come to mind, "Fake news", what he would say if someone were to point out his pathological lying or any of his many flaws.
All in all, that entire article seems to be speaking on Trump's many flaws so either it is all projection and those traits actually belong to conservatives, NOT liberals (this is the likely case), or Donald Trump is a closet liberal (not so likely).
This was all from an article here:
https://m.news24.com/MyNews24/Liberalism-True-Political-Ideology-or-Mental-Disorder-20131022The final article you linked, it is a push. It claims that Liberals are just as intolerant as conservatives when faced with opposing views. I have seen much evidence to the contrary but I have also seen much evidence to support that hypothesis as well. I will have to be more observant in the future and watch for signs that one is more intolerant than the other, vice versa or that is truly it equal. It is an eye opener.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/05/09/why-liberals-arent-as-tolerant-as-they-think-215114[/quote]
Quite an interesting article. Very well presented. The whole gist of everything that you show pertains to conservatives and Trump in particular, is however, shown to be the traits of both parties and other fringe parties, and most politicians in general. To put yourself up in front of the public and ask to be considered for any office, is in itself a form of narcissism. You have to really think highly of yourself, and what politician doesn’t? In my humble opinion, your article describes American politics in general.