Intelligence Study Links Low I.Q. To Prejudice, Racism, Conservatism, Homophobia

Intelligence Study Links Low I.Q. To Prejudice, Racism, Conservatism,
Homophobia

The Huffington Post Rebecca Searles First Posted: 02/ 1/2012 8:52
am Updated: 02/ 1/2012 3:21 pm

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.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/27/intelligence-study-links-prejudice_n_1237796.html?ref=science&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

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Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
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