Right-wingers are less intelligent than left wingers, says study
- Children with low intelligence grow up to be prejudiced
- Right-wing views make the less intelligent feel 'safe'
- Analysis of more than 15,000 people
By
Rob Waugh
Right-wingers tend to be less
intelligent than left-wingers, and people with low childhood
intelligence tend to grow up to have racist and anti-gay views, says a
controversial new study.
Conservative politics work almost as a 'gateway' into prejudice against others, say the Canadian academics.
The
paper analysed large UK studies which compared childhood intelligence
with political views in adulthood across more than 15,000 people.
The authors claim that people with low intelligence gravitate towards right-wing views because they make them feel safe.
The survey, which compared childhood
intelligence with political views, is bad news for David Cameron, the
Conservative Party Prime Minister but should give a lift to Labour Party
leader, Ed Miliband, pictured in Question Time
intelligence with political views, is bad news for David Cameron, the
Conservative Party Prime Minister but should give a lift to Labour Party
leader, Ed Miliband, pictured in Question Time
Crucially, people's educational level
is not what determines whether they are racist or not - it's innate
intelligence, according to the academics.
Social status also appears to play no part.
The
study, published in Psychological Science, claims that right-wing
ideology forms a 'pathway' for people with low reasoning ability to
become prejudiced against groups such as other races and gay people.
Left-wingers tend to be more open-minded
says the survey - Democrats voted in first black U.S. president Barack
Obama. But right-wing ideology forms a pathway for prejudice -
Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney, pictured right, was glitter-bombed
yesterday by gay-rights activists because of his views
says the survey - Democrats voted in first black U.S. president Barack
Obama. But right-wing ideology forms a pathway for prejudice -
Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney, pictured right, was glitter-bombed
yesterday by gay-rights activists because of his views
'Individuals
with lower cognitive abilities may gravitate towards more socially
conservative right-wing ideologies that maintain the status quo.
'It provides a sense of order.'
The
study, by academics at Brock University in Ontario, Canada, used
information from two UK studies from 1958 and 1970 , where several
thousand children were assessed for intelligence at age 10 and 11, and
then asked political questions aged 33.
The 1958 National Child Development involved 4,267 men and 4,537 women born in 1958.
'Individuals with lower abilities may gravitate towards right-wing
ideologies that maintain the status quo.
It provides a sense of order,' say the academics
The British Cohort Study involved 3,412 men and 3,658 women born in 1970.
It's the first time the data from these studies has been used in this way.
In
adulthood, the children were asked whether they agreed with statements
such as, 'I wouldn't mind working with people from other races,' and 'I
wouldn't mind if a family of a different race moved next door.'
They
were also asked whether they agreed with statements about typically
right-wing and socially conservative politics such as, 'Give law
breakers stiffer sentences,' and 'Schools should teach children to obey
authority.'
The researchers
also compared their results against a 1986 American study which
included tests of cognitive ability and questions assessing prejudice
against homosexuals.
The
authors claim that there is a strong correlation between low
intelligence both as a child and an adult, and right-wing politics.
The authors also claim that conservative politics is part of a complex relationship that leads people to become prejudices.
'Conservative
ideology represents a critical pathway through which childhood
intelligence predicts racism in adulthood,' says the paper.
'In psychological terms, the relation between intelligence and prejudice
may stem from the propensity of individuals with lower cognitive ability
to endorse more right wing conservative ideologies because such
ideologies offer a psychological sense of stability and order.'
'Clearly, however, all socially conservative people are not prejudiced, and all prejudiced persons are not conservative.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2095549/Right-wingers-intelligent-left-wingers-says-controversial-study--conservative-politics-lead-people-racist.html#ixzz35dV4Fd7A
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