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

by my2cents Posted 2012/02/02 20:58:02

Related Topics: Liberals, Conservative, Author, Links, Cycle, Racist, Racism, Conservatives, Stress, Science, Politics, Tests

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	Conservatives are less intelligent.	24 votes	55%
	Liberals are less intelligent.	6 votes	14%
	People who believe simplifying ideologies do so because uncertainty makes them anxious, not because they're conservative or liberal.	7 votes	16%
	Undecided--please tell us why!	7 votes	16%

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 conservatives politics in adulthood.

Dr. Gordon Hodson, Professor of Psychology at Brock 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.

Why might less intelligent people be drawn to conservative ideologies? Because such ideologies feature "structure and order" in a complicated world.

Reality is complicated and messy. Ideologies get rid of the messiness and impose simple solutions to problems. So it's not surprising that people with less cognitive capacity will be attracted to simplifying ideologies.

But liberalism has some simplifying ideologies as well, so less intelligent types could also be attracted to that.

What do you think? Do conservatives tend to be less intelligent? Or is this just political opinion masquerading as science?

http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/01/04/0956797611421...

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smitpr 2012/11/17 21:40:19

Liberals are less intelligent.

Blacks are among the least intelligent - a fact. Jews are of the highest intelligence - another fact. Both are liberal. Except at the core of Judaism are conservative ideologies.

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JuneGagnon 2012/03/21 10:52:14 (edited)

Liberals are less intelligent.

No one got the "concept" - -psychiatrists claim "liberalism" is a "mental disorder" - -therefore, "lower IQ" - -if any. So "yes", political opinion "masquerading" as "science"!

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my2cents to JuneGagnon 2012/03/21 22:04:14 (edited)

And you're spouting wishful thinking as fact. No psychiatrists have claimed liberalism a mental disorder. Bend over and pull another intelligent comment out your butt, June.

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Pat 2012/03/17 05:11:54

Conservatives are less intelligent.

+1
I'm not sure if it's a lack of intelligence so much as a lack of education. Usually well educated have a more global view of thing and more exposure to other ideas. It makes them more tolerant and it allows them to see the senselessness of bigotry, hatred, racism etc.

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raine 2012/03/16 22:34:51

Undecided--please tell us why!

+1
Intelligence Study Links Low I.Q. To Prejudice, Racism, Conservatism

That makes sense. Most people who are really prejudiced and racist, seem to be rednecks They are probably less able to think because they grew up without proper schools and or nutrition. I am talking about those people with no teeth due to being bottle fed mountain dew from birth.

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my2cents to raine 2012/03/19 05:40:10

The toothless wonders of the south!

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smitpr to raine 2012/11/17 21:44:06

+1
And there's nothing prejudiced about your statement. The arrogance of people like you is partly why the garbage liberals spew is anathema to conservatives.

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Mark 2012/03/16 20:28:34

Undecided--please tell us why!

Sounds like this survey is confusing uneducated and unintelligent.
Just because someone is uneducated doesnt mean they are stupid.
I.Q tests are one of the poorest ways to assertain one's intelligence. For example some autistic people are exceptionally skilled at one area. Put them onto an I.Q test and they will fail. I.Q tests can be trained for just like any other test.
This survey sounds like politically motivated research.

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my2cents to Mark 2012/03/19 05:40:51

Uneducated people tend to do stupid things more often.

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Mark to my2cents 2012/03/19 09:13:25

Ironically that's a stupid comment.

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my2cents to Mark 2012/03/20 09:00:11

LOL!

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Magdy mohamed 2012/03/16 15:34:59

Undecided--please tell us why!

Regarding Reagan, the GOP is against ANY raising of taxes, for whatever reason (perhaps except war). The kind of balance that Regan achieved won't even be considered today.

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Ghost 2012/02/09 17:49:04

Liberals are less intelligent.

+2
With this exception.

http://laudableinkworks.com/i...

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Maynard 2012/02/03 13:41:42

Undecided--please tell us why!

Prejudiced beliefs?

Ask a Liberal, progressive, what ever they call themselves these days, just ask them

WHAT DO THEY BELIEVE IN?

All they have are LIES ABOUT OUR FELLOW AMERICANS.

Since when is that political knowledge?

TRUE PREJUDICE DEFINED, hate based upon a FALSE PREMISE.

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my2cents to Maynard 2012/02/03 18:42:26

Okie dokie.

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Jimbo 2012/02/03 00:27:42

Conservatives are less intelligent.

ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2010) — More intelligent people are statistically significantly more likely to exhibit social values and religious and political preferences that are novel to the human species in evolutionary history. Specifically, liberalism and atheism, and for men (but not women), preference for sexual exclusivity correlate with higher intelligence, a new study finds.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/r...

Liberals tend to be better at managing conflicting information, while conservatives are though to be better at recognizing threats

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/20...

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my2cents to Jimbo 2012/02/03 18:44:04

That explains all the histrionic doomsday-speak from the right.

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panjok2 to my2cents 2012/03/17 02:49:57

the doomsday is not a myth! All one needs to do is realize how far in debt we are and then do the math of how we can get out of that debt...1+1= we can't!

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my2cents to panjok2 2012/03/19 05:47:21

But Cheney said "Reagan taught us that deficits don't matter". How is that different now?

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panjok2 to my2cents 2012/03/23 19:01:16

That is because they are all keynesian's and this way of thinking will be our downfall! NO matter who you are..the UNITED STATES...me ...you or anyone...you cannot continue to owe someone else money and keep piling on the debt with interest rates that we can't even pay without it coming to an end one day! We should all be listening to Ron Paul and following Austrian economics! If we ever want to reverse the direction we are headed in!

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my2cents to panjok2 2012/03/25 22:59:37

Austrian economics? If we followed them, that would make the U.S. socialist! Heaven forbid!

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panjok2 to my2cents 2012/03/28 13:49:47

No it would not! I can tell you have not studied Austrian economics!

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my2cents to panjok2 2012/03/30 06:50:55

Austria is in Europe and a part of the EU, that makes them socialist! And American does not want socialist economics here!

Right, conservatives?

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panjok2 to my2cents 2012/05/29 10:21:58

Maybe you should learn about the actual Austrian economics that I am talking about as it refers to what Ron Paul is talking about ! It's about Murray N. Rothbard or better yet just watch this video because I don't have the time to really explain it to you. It is something you should learn on your own though! It will break down everything you have been taught about economics and you will see at some point how screwed up our system is today!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?...

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panjok2 to Jimbo 2012/03/17 02:48:26

ya like the threat of this country going bankrupt because of all the liberal ideology!

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smitpr to Jimbo 2012/11/17 21:47:21

+3
Not really. Most liberals I know will look at conflicting information and discard data that does not fit their worldview.

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Z 2012/02/02 22:04:59

People who believe simplifying ideologies do so because uncertainty makes the...

+1
This study is complete hogwash. Several of these "studies" have been done, and all have had the exact same flaws, all completely ignorant of the scientific method, and all completely debunked.

http://wmbriggs.com/blog/?p=5118

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my2cents to Z 2012/02/02 22:08:33

That's what conservatives always say. But if an study showed that liberal ideology attracted people of low IQ, would you say the same?

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Z to my2cents 2012/02/02 22:10:35

Yup. By the way, I am not a conservative.

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my2cents to Z 2012/02/02 22:24:34

Good for you. But conservatives always say this about these studies. Do you think they would say the same if the study showed that liberals displayed a lower IQ?

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Z to my2cents 2012/02/02 22:26:16

No. But the same is the case if studies said the opposite. If they suggested liberals were stupid and were flawed, liberals would be doing the same thing.

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my2cents to Z 2012/02/02 22:29:00

True. So it's really a defense of self thing, rather than an honest discussion of the results?

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Z to my2cents 2012/02/02 22:55:28

Yup. But agian, these results are completely flawed, and are why universities are considered liberal. First of all, no method could accuratly preduce such results, second, the type of conservativism (American modern, American classical, British modern, British classical, etc.) is never mentioned and third the actual studies tend to be flawed.

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my2cents to Z 2012/02/03 02:19:02 (edited)

I can't judge whether the studies are flawed or not, I'm not an expert and I would have to rely on other peoples opinions for that, which is what the majority of us probably do. So I'm sure the liberals believe the liberal opinions and the conservatives believe the conservative opinions.

But isn't it odd that conservatives can't simply disparage a study, they go further and disparage the entire educational system that produced it. They can't disparage news reporting, they have to disparage the entire MSM.

That's why conservatives say the media is biased against them and universities are biased against them. Maybe the world really isn't against them like they think, they just won't accept the possibility that their ideology has flaws?

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Z to my2cents 2012/02/03 05:59:51

Hold on, the media is extremely liberal. Your smart enough to see that. The media is extremely bias, and there have been several court cases showing political discrimination on hiring with universities.

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my2cents to Z 2012/02/09 20:14:23

A couple of cases doesn't represent the entire industry, like the right wants to believe.

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Z to my2cents 2012/02/10 01:54:36

It isn't really a couple of cases. Data indicates that college staff is between 75-93% democrat.

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my2cents to Z 2012/02/10 05:46:58

I think it's because people who have intellectual curiosity tend to lean Democratic. The Conservatives I have known tend to accept what they are taught without question, hence very little intellectual curiosity or desire to learn. Poster childs: George W. Bush and Sarah Palin.

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Z to my2cents 2012/02/10 06:47:19

First of all, George W. Bush was not conservative, by any measure of the definition, unless of course you want to claim that Obama is.

Second, most ponies with intellectual curiosity lean libertarian. Economics and political science majors, as well as all ponies with a bacholers degree, actually lean conservative, while only higher degree levels and those with a high school degree or less vote liberal. That sounds more like an elite-peasent relationship.

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my2cents to Z 2012/02/10 07:24:24

If most people with higher degrees leaned conservative, then colleges and universities would be bastions of CONSERVATIVE ideology rather than liberal ideology, wouldn't they?

Conservatives can deny George W. Bush all they want, but he identified himself as a "compassionate conservative" and you guys endorsed him as such.

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