There's no gentle way to put it: People who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb, according to a new study that is bound to stir public controversy.

The research finds that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes as adults. These findings point to a vicious cycle, according to lead researcher Gordon Hodson, a psychologist at Brock University in Ontario. Low-intelligence adults tend to gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, the study found. Those ideologies, in turn, stress hierarchy and resistance to change, attitudes that can contribute to prejudice, Hodson wrote in an email to LiveScience.

"Prejudice is extremely complex and multifaceted, making it critical that any factors contributing to bias are uncovered and understood," he said.

Controversy ahead

The findings combine three hot-button topics.

"They've pulled off the trifecta of controversial topics," said Brian Nosek, a social and cognitive psychologist at the University of Virginia who was not involved in the study. "When one selects intelligence, political ideology and racism and looks at any of the relationships between those three variables, it's bound to upset somebody."

Polling data and social and political science research do show that prejudice is more common in those who hold right-wing ideals that those of other political persuasions, Nosek told LiveScience. [7 Thoughts That Are Bad For You]

"The unique contribution here is trying to make some progress on the most challenging aspect of this," Nosek said, referring to the new study. "It's not that a relationship like that exists, but why it exists."

Brains and bias

Earlier studies have found links between low levels of education and higher levels of prejudice, Hodson said, so studying intelligence seemed a logical next step. The researchers turned to two studies of citizens in the United Kingdom, one that has followed babies since their births in March 1958, and another that did the same for babies born in April 1970. The children in the studies had their intelligence assessed at age 10 or 11; as adults ages 30 or 33, their levels of social conservatism and racism were measured. [Life's Extremes: Democrat vs. Republican]

In the first study, verbal and nonverbal intelligence was measured using tests that asked people to find similarities and differences between words, shapes and symbols. The second study measured cognitive abilities in four ways, including number recall, shape-drawing tasks, defining words and identifying patterns and similarities among words. Average IQ is set at 100.

Social conservatives were defined as people who agreed with a laundry list of statements such as "Family life suffers if mum is working full-time," and "Schools should teach children to obey authority." Attitudes toward other races were captured by measuring agreement with statements such as "I wouldn't mind working with people from other races." (These questions measured overt prejudiced attitudes, but most people, no matter how egalitarian, do hold unconscious racial biases; Hodson's work can't speak to this "underground" racism.)

As suspected, low intelligence in childhood corresponded with racism in adulthood. But the factor that explained the relationship between these two variables was political: When researchers included social conservatism in the analysis, those ideologies accounted for much of the link between brains and bias.

People with lower cognitive abilities also had less contact with people of other races.

"This finding is consistent with recent research demonstrating that intergroup contact is mentally challenging and cognitively draining, and consistent with findings that contact reduces prejudice," said Hodson, who along with his colleagues published these results online Jan. 5 in the journal Psychological Science.

A study of averages

Hodson was quick to note that the despite the link found between low intelligence and social conservatism, the researchers aren't implying that all liberals are brilliant and all conservatives stupid. The research is a study of averages over large groups, he said.

"There are multiple examples of very bright conservatives and not-so-bright liberals, and many examples of very principled conservatives and very intolerant liberals," Hodson said.

Nosek gave another example to illustrate the dangers of taking the findings too literally.

"We can say definitively men are taller than women on average," he said. "But you can't say if you take a random man and you take a random woman that the man is going to be taller. There's plenty of overlap."

Nonetheless, there is reason to believe that strict right-wing ideology might appeal to those who have trouble grasping the complexity of the world.

"Socially conservative ideologies tend to offer structure and order," Hodson said, explaining why these beliefs might draw those with low intelligence. "Unfortunately, many of these features can also contribute to prejudice."

In another study, this one in the United States, Hodson and Busseri compared 254 people with the same amount of education but different levels of ability in abstract reasoning. They found that what applies to racism may also apply to homophobia. People who were poorer at abstract reasoning were more likely to exhibit prejudice against gays. As in the U.K. citizens, a lack of contact with gays and more acceptance of right-wing authoritarianism explained the link. [5 Myths About Gay People Debunked]

Simple viewpoints

Hodson and Busseri's explanation of their findings is reasonable, Nosek said, but it is correlational. That means the researchers didn't conclusively prove that the low intelligence caused the later prejudice. To do that, you'd have to somehow randomly assign otherwise identical people to be smart or dumb, liberal or conservative. Those sorts of studies obviously aren't possible.

The researchers controlled for factors such as education and socioeconomic status, making their case stronger, Nosek said. But there are other possible explanations that fit the data. For example, Nosek said, a study of left-wing liberals with stereotypically naïve views like "every kid is a genius in his or her own way," might find that people who hold these attitudes are also less bright. In other words, it might not be a particular ideology that is linked to stupidity, but extremist views in general.

"My speculation is that it's not as simple as their model presents it," Nosek said. "I think that lower cognitive capacity can lead to multiple simple ways to represent the world, and one of those can be embodied in a right-wing ideology where 'People I don't know are threats' and 'The world is a dangerous place'. ... Another simple way would be to just assume everybody is wonderful."

Prejudice is of particular interest because understanding the roots of racism and bias could help eliminate them, Hodson said. For example, he said, many anti-prejudice programs encourage participants to see things from another group's point of view. That mental exercise may be too taxing for people of low IQ.

"There may be cognitive limits in the ability to take the perspective of others, particularly foreigners," Hodson said. "Much of the present research literature suggests that our prejudices are primarily emotional in origin rather than cognitive. These two pieces of information suggest that it might be particularly fruitful for researchers to consider strategies to change feelings toward outgroups," rather than thoughts.

http://news.yahoo.com/low-iq-conservative-beliefs-linked-prejudice-180403506.html

and this is why i dislike 'labels'

I have suspected this for a decade, finaly scientific proof.

I see the lefties are drunk from smelling their own farts again

and why should that only apply to Conservatives?

Are there no Conservatives with College-or University Degrees?
I find that study pretty onesided!

as Mark Twain observed!
There are Lies,there are D*mn Lies,and there are Statistics!
Research based on Statistics can show just about any result the Researcher wishes to show!

Scientifically rigged!!!

Some liberal prejudice for you

http://mingle2.com/topic/show/319981?page=1

Research isn't "based on" statistics. Statistics are developed from research.

Plus, if you read further down in the article, they make quite a few qualifications and specifically address the generalization you mention.

Like Polling Data?

wouldn't you know it! POTUS' Igor!

based on polling data? What kind of polls? Are you racist? Sounds to me like people with low IQs don't know how to not act racist. It can't be that if intelligent people happen to be racist they hide it.

This is from the article above Mr Conrad and it does address your conscerns.



"Hodson was quick to note that the despite the link found between low intelligence and social conservatism, the researchers aren't implying that all liberals are brilliant and all conservatives stupid. The research is a study of averages over large groups, he said.

"There are multiple examples of very bright conservatives and not-so-bright liberals, and many examples of very principled conservatives and very intolerant liberals," Hodson said."

Let's see.
Was Johnson a democrat?
July 2, 2004

Forty years ago today, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a bill that changed the face of America. It opened all public accommodations — hotels, restaurants, swimming pools — to all Americans regardless of race, color, religion or national origin.

Just after he signed, he was heard stating;

"I'll have those n*ggers voting Democratic for the next 200 years."

-- Lyndon B. Johnson to two governors on Air Force One according Ronald Kessler's Book, "Inside The White House"

Democrats fought to keep an entire race in slavery during The Civil War. Now today 150 years later the same Democrat Party fights to enslave EVERY American to government and in the process destroy the traditions, values and principles that have made out country great. They seek to spend us into oblivion to accomplish this slavery and blame Republicans, the Tea Party and anyone else they can find for their truly unamerican obsession with enslaving the masses through government.

So, tell me, what is the party of racists and bigots?

This is from the article above Mr Invictus and it does address your conscerns.



"Hodson was quick to note that the despite the link found between low intelligence and social conservatism, the researchers aren't implying that all liberals are brilliant and all conservatives stupid. The research is a study of averages over large groups, he said.

"There are multiple examples of very bright conservatives and not-so-bright liberals, and many examples of very principled conservatives and very intolerant liberals," Hodson said."

I think more often it's one's milieu rather than an IQ score - it's more of a sociological issue than psychological issue

people tend to be sheep, bandwagon jumpers, packs in the herd

it would take, I believe, more intelligence to be conservative within the liberal milieu or liberal from within a conservative milieu

where level of intelligence prolly comes in is the tendency to just be part of the herd - whether it's conservative or liberal isn't going to matter

Sure, polls are research.

It takes more intelligence than either to be a libertarian in any milieu. I speak from experience enduring the slings and arrows of brain-dead and ignorant "lefties" and "righties".

well considering the myriad factors that cannot be controlled in psycho-social research, most of it is little more valuable than coffee table chat BS....jmho

people's attitudes toward politics and race are affected by many things. I feel it takes a good deal of intelligence to climb out of one's milieu (aka think for yourself)whether that milieu is conervative, liberal, or OK HB.... libertarian silly guy...hope the music is going well HB

and much is also a matter of experience - even a person with lesser intelligence can be affected by multi cultural experiences

and it is also time to debunk the myth that intelligence is static - ones experiences play a big part in this in all facets in terms of the substance of intelligence, attitudes & beliefs

a person with a mathematical savant (for example ) may be racist if his/her experience has been this teaching with no exposure to other ideas - yet this is a uniquely gifted individual....milieu I say!!

True. Even the "experts" to this day haven't come to an agreement on exactly how to define "intelligence".

I am sorry but this is a lame theory. My IQ is 170 and I am by nature a mean little nasty person. I do not have traditional prejudices such as race, religion, politics, etc.

I hate stupid people and I don't mean the mentally handicapped. I mean the jackazz who turns on his windshield wiper and sprays to clean his windshield when driving in front of you screwing up your windshield.

I hate people who challenge my IQ and want to give me admissions and entrance exams to prove how smart I really am based on subjects I have no way of knowing about and then say I am dumb because I only understood 40% of what they said in a language I have never had spoken to me, etc.

I want to kill those who abuse animals, the elderly, children, women, and the handicapped or helpless. I mean I want to KILL THEM. Run them over with my car type thing.

I cannot stand people who act like this site is one giant text message and abbreviate everything like there is no room for infinite words and say things like "cuz".

I hate people who lose at Terri Scrabble. Meaning cannot spell words with five or more different letters of the alphabet.

I want to biotch slap people who do idiot hits based on my pic and call me "angel" "sweetie" "baby" AND ARE NOT FROM THE MID-WEST OR SOUTH.

I want to tell people who ask me questions and then say my answers are too complicated or long to eat poop and die.

I am a nasty hostile little person and my IQ is well above normal.