Low IQ Linked to Prejudice, Racism and Conservative Beliefs in Intelligence Study

A little provocation with your coffee?

The research suggests that people of lower intelligence are drawn to conservative ideologies due to their fear of change. They feel especially threatened by people of different racial, religious or ethnic backgrounds, attributing such differences to real or potential loss of economic or social power.

Conservatives, need we point out, beg to differ. Some critics begin by questioning whether psychology is a 'real' science. Others merely challenge the study's methodology.

The findings do address questions that have been raised for a decade or more in the US and Europe about why people of lower economic status are drawn to conservative political parties and ideologies since the policies espoused by such are counter to the economic well-being of those earning lesser incomes. Even Francis Fukuyama, he of 'The End of History' was quoted as saying he did not understand why there has not been a left-wing uprising in response to the financial crisis and the pronounced rise in income inequality. Further research - both confirming and denying these findings is sure to follow - but as usually happens in such controversial debates, the opening statement has framed the issue. JL

Rebecca Searles reports in the Huffington Post:

Are racists dumb? Do conservatives tend to be less intelligent than liberals? A provocative new study from Brock University in Ontario suggests the answer to both questions may be a qualified yes.
The study, published in Psychological Science, showed that people who score low on I.Q. tests in childhood are more likely to develop prejudiced beliefs and socially conservative politics in adulthood.

I.Q., or intelligence quotient, is a score determined by standardized tests, but whether the tests truly reveal intelligence remains a topic of hot debate among psychologists.

Dr. Gordon Hodson, a professor of psychology at the university and the study's lead author, said the finding represented evidence of a vicious cycle: People of low intelligence gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, which stress resistance to change and, in turn, prejudice, he told LiveScience.

Why might less intelligent people be drawn to conservative ideologies? Because such ideologies feature "structure and order" that make it easier to comprehend a complicated world, Dodson said. "Unfortunately, many of these features can also contribute to prejudice," he added.

Dr. Brian Nosek, a University of Virginia psychologist, echoed those sentiments.

"Reality is complicated and messy," he told The Huffington Post in an email. "Ideologies get rid of the messiness and impose a simpler solution. So, it may not be surprising that people with less cognitive capacity will be attracted to simplifying ideologies."

But Nosek said less intelligent types might be attracted to liberal "simplifying ideologies" as well as conservative ones.

In any case, the study has taken the Internet by storm, with some outspoken liberals saying that it validates their suspicions about conservatives and conservatives arguing that the research has been misinterpreted.