Thanksgiving and the holiday seasonPeople may advise against having political discussions in order to avoid dinner table fracas.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania discovered that not all forms of avoidance are necessary. dinner attendees take time to understand each other’s “primal world beliefs” when conversing about politics.
Jeremy “Jer” Clifton, a senior research scientist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center, told Fox News Digital that primal world beliefs, or “primals” for short, are a category of “extremely basic beliefs about the world as a whole.”
Clifton and his colleagues recently published a paper on primal world beliefs in the context of politics – an avenue of study that belief researchers hadn’t studied in depth.
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Dr. Jer Clifton, a senior research scientist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center, studies “primal world beliefs” and runs The Primals Project, an empirical research group that examines how beliefs impact psychology.
(Courtesy Jer Clifton)
Prior established research has suggested that there are 26 primal world beliefs, but the top three revolve around the belief that the world is or isn’t safe, enticing and alive.
Clifton told Clifton that she didn’t think of safe, enticing or alive in a phone interview on Tuesday 22 November. “It was created from the data and it’s now replicating across different groups and cultures.
The new primal world beliefs and politics paper examined nine studies that analyzed people’s worldviews, which surveyed 4,500 individuals.
Clifton and his team also analysed 80,000 tweets that shared life and world views.
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“Clifton stated that people are really terrible at understanding the primal world beliefs and values of different groups. “So, if one asks a lot conservatives, and many liberals, they both think the other side thinks that the world’s a bad place.”
Thanksgiving is a time when many feel politics shouldn’t even be brought up in order to maintain peace among friends and family.
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Shape the world beliefs Overall well-beingClifton explained that personality formation and personal politics are important aspects of Clifton’s work.
“What we found is that belief [that]Clifton stated that the belief that the world is dangerous is one of the most important primal beliefs in the world when trying to understand the left or right. “It is hard to find someone who views the world objectively as a dull, ugly place.
He continued, “Each belief in the world being safe, attractive, and alive is related and they all make up the belief that the entire world is a good one.
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Safe, enticing and alive: The 3 main primal world beliefs
Primal world beliefs are a set of fundamental beliefs that describe the world and human life. According to belief experts, the three most popular primal world beliefs are “safe, enticing, and alive.”
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The belief in a’safe world’
Clifton reports that Clifton’s research has shown that people perceive the world as either “safe,” or “dangerous.”
“That does not mean that it is an either/or proposition. Clifton explained that there is a dimension and we all are scattered along that dimension. “Some people are more middle-aged and others are more extreme.”
It all boils down to how safe a person believes the world is.
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People with a safe worldview view life as stable, cooperative and secure. Those who see the world differently see it as chaotic, miserable, and full of decay.
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“The belief in a safe world versus dangerous places is about threats of all kinds. Germs, instability, crime, [and hurtful things]Like [a family member]All of it: calling you by your name [these negative factors are]Participate in that.”
The “enticing” world belief
Clifton stated that people who have an “enticing worldview” see life as more attractive or alluring than it is boring.
“This is the belief that the world is a place that’s beautiful, interesting, funny and meaningful. Clifton explained that engagement is not related to pleasure.
It all comes down to whether someone sees the world as beautiful, or as dull.
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He said that pleasure is more associated with believing the world is safe than it is dangerous. “If the world’s safe, it’s an area where you can avoid feeling miserable.”
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Those who see the world as enticing look forward to what’s to come, while those who see the world as dull often think exploration as boring or pointless.
The belief in an ‘alive world’
The belief in an “alive” world means that people are alive when they speak. See life and other world eventsClifton describes it as having a deeper significance than being “indifferent” to “mechanistic,”
Clifton said that those who see the world as living view it as an “intentional and purposeful” relationship with an “active universe that responds to individual actions, communicates its will, and plans.
The belief in an alive world comes down to whether someone sees the world active and intentional or indifferently and random.
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While belief in the existence of the world is linked to being more religious is a false assumption, spirituality is a much stronger link. And in fact, there’s a lot of people who aren’t religious at all, who think all religions aren’t true, who totally see the world as alive,” Clifton said.
“[For example,] an atheist friend of mine who will plan a picnic and then if it rains, they’re like, ‘OK, it’s a sign from the world that I need to call my mom and make up for that fight that we had this morning,’” Clifton added.
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Clifton states that mechanistic people see the world in a way that is “indifferent” or “random” and view themselves as part of an “intelligent machine” with “no plans and no desires.”
Talking politics during Thanksgiving?
It could be helpful to think about the 3 primal world beliefs.
Thanksgiving is a holiday that brings together families for traditional meals.
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Fox News Digital reporter Clifton said empathy, cooperation and respect were key ingredients in seeing the world from a different perspective.
“In these Politically divided timesClifton stated that there is less desire to do so. “We all want to see our side win.”
Clifton said that people who consider the world safe will try to allay fears when they meet someone who believes the world is dangerous.
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The new primal world belief research paper, which covers politics, has shown that political ideology can be shaped depending on how a person views the world.
Clifton stated, “The belief that the world can be viewed as a hierarchical place implies that it is also a belief that the world has many differences.”
When family and friends gather to celebrate Thanksgiving or similar formal events, they often discuss different topics.
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One group sees differences as a hard line in sand, which commands respect and asks for the line to be maintained.
Clifton stated that conservatives are more comfortable with this view of the world than liberals. Liberals, however, tend to see the world in a “place full of differences” and “superficial and arbitrarily drawn lines in the sand.”
“[For example,]Clifton suggested that we could discuss the lines between rich and poor, men and women. “A lot the debate over trans rights could come down to the fundamental assumptions we hold about whether the world is one where differences really matter.”
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People can navigate sensitive conversations by understanding the worldviews of people on opposite sides of a political aisle. Respectfully, ThanksgivingClifton says that there are other holidays as well as daily life.
Clifton stated, “We can disagree and we can debate. But we can also recognize the fact that all we can do is act on what we believe to true.” Clifton said, “We can see that we might be more liberal or more conservative if the world is seen in a different way.” It’s a matter of being patient with the other side.
According to primal world belief research, having a positive outlook on life and the world is not directly linked to your income.
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Clifton noted that current research hasn’t found that positive primal world beliefs reflect privilege.
This assumption has held up to this point. Wealthy people and people who live in luxury homes are assumed. high-income zip codes have a more positive view of the world because they’ve “probably had an objectively good and abundant life” hasn’t been proven to be true, Clifton said.
Clifton shared his optimism with Fox News Digital, saying that once we can overcome this and start to truly care again and desire to understand, then I’m optimistic. “I believe we will discover that our primal world beliefs can help us understand why we do what we do.”
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Clifton doesn’t recommend people try to change another person’s mind when discussing politics at the Thanksgiving table.
“Do I have any empirically proven ways to change these beliefs?” He said, “No, I don’t.” “Perhaps there will be opportunities to productively talk about these primal world beliefs in the future and attempt to change them.
He continued, “[The research is]We are on our way. However, it can be useful to know that these beliefs are possible and that you have options.
