I think the pull for downshift, push for upshift comes from the g-forces associated with acceleration and deceleration -- especially in racing.

In a race car, upon entry into a corner, you're hard on the brakes and downshifting quickly so you be in the correct gear to maximize acceleration on exit.

Think of the forces on your body as this is happening -- during hard braking, your body is forced forward (Newton's laws of motion, an object in motion tends to remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force) so pushing the gearshift during this is more natural. The opposite is true under acceleration -- during hard acceleration, your body is pushed back so pulling the shifter is more natural.

At first I thought it didn't make sense and thought more like the cruise control method. Now, it makes perfect sense.

(Oh, and don't get me started on the cruise control -- I wish they'd have gone back to the way it was in the '80s. Forward for resume, rearward for off, up for set/accelerate, down for set/decelerate. That way makes the most sense to me, even today. Why do they need to have "off" work in two directions? Does anyone else think the resume switch is hard to get to and unneeded?) Also, as JDN points out, the stalk for the cruise should be on the other side of the wheel like it was way back when.

 

The ACC (CC) is confusing me a little bit. I would like to have it the ther way, just like the smg paddles.
I am just happy I don't have smg, because I think it would really confuse me, doing it the one way on the paddles and the opposite on the CC/ACC...