All good points, thank you. Lol, at one point I did consider re-wording the OP to say "extreme conservatism" rather than just conservatism.

And of course, there are other factors that can make people aggressive or opinionated besides just testosterone, and ones that can make people shy or timid besides low testosterone.


Your main point seems to be that I'm talking in generalities. Well of course, I freely admit that. Anytime you're trying to look at major trends in social anthropology or anything similar you have to deal in generalities. Simply breaking people up into groups labeled liberal and conservative is a generality, but it serves a valid purpose and enables you to look at large scale trends that would be impossible to see if you didn't use generalities.

Thinking about extremely conservative people I've known I do see a certain trend toward aggression and opinionatedness (is that a word?) and contemptuous disregard for facts and evidence or pretty much any ideas that aren't aligned with theirs. And again, I'll freely admit I could be just flat wrong.

The reason I'm even thinking about this is that, ever since discovering the fact that liberalism and conservatism are more than just political stances, and that they're hard-wired into us and affect every aspect of our behavior, I've been fascinated with the idea and have been interested in what other factors might play a role. It's just so frustrating that the issues are so polarizing... why does it seem to be impossible for liberal thinkers and conservative thinkers to get together and agree on so many things??!!

It may or may not have something to do with testosterone, but there sure is a definite correlation between the effects of high testosterone and the way extreme conservatives (at least the ones I'm familiar with) act. One of the most extreme ones I've ever known is a truck driver who's all macho bluster and bravado and tough-guy swagger and he refuses to even listen to any opposing viewpoint to his own. Testosterone might not be the connecting factor - but I'm interested in trying to figure out what it might be, or what other factors might also be involved.