Scarfman
Knitter of the Scarf
Found this article today. It supports my assertion (in a couple of other threads) that there is a statistically significant negative link between intelligence and conservatism.
Gordon Hodson and Michael A. Busseri, "Bright Minds and Dark Attitudes : Lower Cognitive Ability Predicts Greater Prejudice Through Right-Wing Ideologies" in Psychological Science. 23.2 (Feb 2012): 187-195.
I'd be happy to share the material, except that it's under copyright. PM if you are unable to acquire this material any other way.
For those of us involved in the discussion in the other threads, I'd say it challenges the idea (cyclopath's for example) that social conservatives are "undereducated" and supports my view that there are some very basic and core inabilities to reason and think in a complex way.
Gordon Hodson and Michael A. Busseri, "Bright Minds and Dark Attitudes : Lower Cognitive Ability Predicts Greater Prejudice Through Right-Wing Ideologies" in Psychological Science. 23.2 (Feb 2012): 187-195.
I never believe headline claims, so I read the article in full, and it checks out. What it's saying is that whilst there is a clear correlation between low intelligence and prejudice, the strongest correlation is between low intelligence and social conservatism. If you take out that association, the direct correlation is much weaker. So, low-int people are more drawn to conservatism than prejudice, per se.Despite their important implications for interpersonal behaviors and relations, cognitive abilities have been largely ignored as explanations of prejudice. We proposed and tested mediation models in which lower cognitive ability predicts greater prejudice, an effect mediated through the endorsement of right-wing ideologies (social conservatism, right-wing authoritarianism) and low levels of contact with out-groups. In an analysis of two large-scale, nationally representative United Kingdom data sets (N = 15,874), we found that lower general intelligence (g) in childhood predicts greater racism in adulthood, and this effect was largely mediated via conservative ideology. A secondary analysis of a U.S. data set confirmed a predictive effect of poor abstract-reasoning skills on antihomosexual prejudice, a relation partially mediated by both authoritarianism and low levels of intergroup contact. All analyses controlled for education and socioeconomic status. Our results suggest that cognitive abilities play a critical, albeit underappreciated, role in prejudice. Consequently, we recommend a heightened focus on cognitive ability in research on prejudice and a better integration of cognitive ability into prejudice models.
I'd be happy to share the material, except that it's under copyright. PM if you are unable to acquire this material any other way.
For those of us involved in the discussion in the other threads, I'd say it challenges the idea (cyclopath's for example) that social conservatives are "undereducated" and supports my view that there are some very basic and core inabilities to reason and think in a complex way.