ARTICLE:
Ever wonder how people you consider quite intelligent can make some pretty out there conclusions and facts about something they support ideologically? A group of researchers from various colleges conducted an experiment where subjects had to look at charts and make a conclusion based off the data. In the neutral test, the self-identified "smarter" subjects who said they were better with numbers and rationalization were able to see that despite one group being much bigger than the other, it was actually less successful (in this hypothetical case, it was about the effectiveness of a skin cream).
However, when the question was switched to be about gun control and whether or not banning decreased crime, the subjects turned off their rational side; they did not look into the numbers and study them like the skin cream example, but rather glossed over the number of increases/decreases in crime compared to the number of cities that did or did not ban it. Instead of working through the percentage like they did in the skin cream example, they bent the facts subconsciously, and made conclusions about the data that fit with whatever ideology they had. As this group (and countless other studies have) found, we match our views closely to whatever group we most identify with, an adaptation trait for survival that also happens to blind us to the facts if it means we'll stay part of that groups mindset. So hopefully that helps to explain how those "crazy conservatives" and "idiot liberals" can find different truths in one fact. And, from a research perspective, a good reminder to be aware of your biases and really look into your numbers with great scrutiny.
