Rigid thinking

[Zzyzx]

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Rigid thinking

Concerning tendency toward thinking in strict terms of black-and-white, right-or-wrong, with-us-or-against-us:

People who identify more intensely with a political tribe or ideology share an underlying psychological trait: low levels of cognitive flexibility, according to a new study.

This "mental rigidity" makes it harder for people to change their ways of thinking or adapt to new environments, say researchers. Importantly, mental rigidity was found in those with the most fervent beliefs and affiliations on both the left and right of the political divide.

"Those with lower cognitive flexibility see the world in more black-and-white terms, and struggle with new and different perspectives. The more inflexible mind may be especially susceptible to the clarity, certainty, and safety frequently offered by strong loyalty to collective ideologies,"

mental rigidity is linked to more extreme attitudes with regards to religiosity, nationalism, and a willingness to endorse violence and sacrifice one's life for an ideological group.

self-described Independents displayed greater cognitive flexibility

"Past studies have shown that it is possible to cultivate cognitive flexibility through training and education. Our findings raise the question of whether heightening our cognitive flexibility might help build more tolerant societies, and even develop antidotes to radicalization."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 081401.htm

Notice 'collective ideologies'

[Divine Insight]

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From the quote within the OP:

self-described Independents displayed greater cognitive flexibility

I totally agree with the general idea here and I flat-out reject tribalism.

When I tell people that I think Trump is the worst thing that ever happened to America they often start up making derogation statements about Hillary or Obama. But when did I say that I supported policies held up by those people?

The desire to jump into an "Us versus Them" tribal war appears to be the main thrust of everyone's position.

Also concerning the quote snip-it above. Even 'Independents' are often seen by tribalists as being a "Party" (i.e. the party of Independents)

Just another attempt to create a strawman tribe to attack.

Tribalism is dangerous because once a person considers themselves to be affiliated with a specific tribe, then they feel compelled to defend that position to the bitter end. Even when it becomes indefensible.

We see this in both politics and religion.

Tribalism is apparently a deeply ingrained primal instinct that can only be overridden by intellect. And unfortunately the average person apparently doesn't have sufficient intellect to override these primal instincts.

So we'll be seeing a lot more tribalism before the human race as whole matures enough to grow out of it. Hopefully someday they will. I certainly don't expect to see this happen in my lifetime. But it could happen relatively soon in the bigger picture. People could potentially wise up in as little as a few centuries. And that would actually be quite quickly, and quite possible. They younger generations have the potential to become far better educated than their parents were. Although, it's also true that many young people are failing to take advantage of the free educational opportunities that are available today.

Only time will tell.