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Segami

(14,923 posts)
Mon Nov 19, 2012, 01:58 PM Nov 2012

Are Liberals Smarter? Study Indicates The Answer Is YES




Two interesting new studies have come out during this election season, which might have liberals and conservatives at odds more than ever. Last year, a study done at Brock University suggested that a lower I.Q. goes hand in hand with both racism and conservative beliefs. The findings are published in Psychological Science and the study is entitled “Bright Minds and Dark Attitudes: Lower Cognitive Ability Predicts Greater Prejudice Through Right-Wing Ideology and Low Intergroup Contact.” Essentially, the study examines the impact of cognitive ability on social attitudes like prejudice and conservatism. The authors predicted that a lower cognitive ability, as measured by the subject’s intelligence quotient or I.Q., would lead to greater social prejudice in adulthood. The authors also hypothesized beforehand that the social prejudice would lead the subjects to endorse “right-wing ideologies”, namely “social conservatism” and “right-wing authoritarianism.”




Turns out, the authors were right on all counts. In the U.K., people with lower I.Q.’s in childhood were accurately predicted to be racists in adulthood and were also generally politically conservative. A second set of data from the U.S. found that people with lower cognitive abilities possessed more homophobic sentiments. Interestingly, the results were controlled for education and socioeconomic status, making the results applicable to a wider spectrum of people. The authors wound up suggesting “a heightened focus on cognitive ability in research on prejudice and a better integration of cognitive ability into prejudice models.”




The lead author, Dr. Gordon Hodson, believes that the results are cyclical: people with lower I.Q.’s tend to be more prejudiced, which leads them more readily toward conservatism, which is resistant to change, which eventually, leads to more prejudice. Another recent study gives us an idea of why these results might be so: ProCon.org assembled a list of 13 different peer-reviewed studies which conclude that liberals and conservatives might not just have different talking points, they actually have different brains.




Each of the studies examined different elements of dissimilarity between liberals and conservatives and had interesting results. Democrats, it seems, have a greater tolerance for uncertainty have because of their larger anterior cingulate cortexes, and Republicans are more sensitive to fear, because of their larger right amygdalas. Psychiatrist Greg Appelbaum also found that conservatives are more likely to avoid individual self-harm, while liberals are more likely to avoid collective group harm. The researchers said it was important to keep in mind that it might not be that a person’s predisposition to certain neurological markers leads to their political affiliation and in fact, it may be a “chicken or the egg issue”, where a person’s political affiliation can actually change their physiological traits.





cont'

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/11/19/are-liberals-smarter-study-indicates-the-answer-is-yes/

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31 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Are Liberals Smarter? Study Indicates The Answer Is YES (Original Post) Segami Nov 2012 OP
Yep!!! Not everyone is conservative, but most stupid people are conservative! n/t RKP5637 Nov 2012 #1
One of the reasons why ' science ' is looked upon as kryptonite. Segami Nov 2012 #2
Here's another interesting study: Researchers help define what makes a political conservative Zorra Nov 2012 #3
I'm not surprised. We're definitely more evolved. We've conquered our lizard brain. catbyte Nov 2012 #4
Don't kid yourself about your lizard brain. It's always there, waiting to pounce. Jim__ Nov 2012 #5
That's why smart liberal thinking people have cats as pets. Ikonoklast Nov 2012 #14
We have lizard brains, but they've dropped their tails. gkhouston Nov 2012 #28
I don't know if it is a lack of intelligence so much as a lack of intellectual curiosity hollysmom Nov 2012 #6
I agree. I grew up in a very conservative area. progressoid Nov 2012 #18
True dat. I know a lot of very bright people who have zero curiosity n/t eridani Nov 2012 #25
Another neuroscience study found that Dems think more "globally" octoberlib Nov 2012 #19
Thanks for the link, I missed that. hollysmom Nov 2012 #21
There's being intelligent and being willfully ignorant. no_hypocrisy Nov 2012 #26
Let me put it this way. theoldman Nov 2012 #7
Sure, but try convincing the stupid people of this! randome Nov 2012 #8
Love it! NT Democracyinkind Nov 2012 #27
Damn straight! Kiss my superior anterior cingulate cortex, republicreeps! nt Buns_of_Fire Nov 2012 #9
Who do you think is smarter (same job position & description) between this Liberal or Conservative? Segami Nov 2012 #10
I swear he looks like Alfred E. Newman Egalitarian Thug Nov 2012 #24
Not surprising-- Dems don't suffer from Gross Cognitive Dissonance like repukes do ailsagirl Nov 2012 #11
Nor hypocrisy, the relief for the pain rock Nov 2012 #29
Duh! malaise Nov 2012 #12
I know right? rivegauche Nov 2012 #20
For real malaise Nov 2012 #30
Too bad it doesn't mean they can't win elections and hurt a lot of others, either. n/t jtuck004 Nov 2012 #13
Even if I can agree. It still kinda sucks. Xyzse Nov 2012 #15
get a better brain, RepubliCONs librechik Nov 2012 #16
"Never Underestimate The Power Of Stupid People In Large Groups" n/t CoboWowbo Nov 2012 #17
Stuff we always knew but great to have the proof! arthritisR_US Nov 2012 #22
self-flattery. HiPointDem Nov 2012 #23
One possible exception: Dwight Eisenhower ailsagirl Nov 2012 #31

Zorra

(27,670 posts)
3. Here's another interesting study: Researchers help define what makes a political conservative
Mon Nov 19, 2012, 02:14 PM
Nov 2012
Researchers help define what makes a political conservative

BERKELEY – Politically conservative agendas may range from supporting the Vietnam War to upholding traditional moral and religious values to opposing welfare. But are there consistent underlying motivations?

Four researchers who culled through 50 years of research literature about the psychology of conservatism report that at the core of political conservatism is the resistance to change and a tolerance for inequality, and that some of the common psychological factors linked to political conservatism include:

Fear and aggression
Dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity
Uncertainty avoidance
Need for cognitive closure
Terror management

"From our perspective, these psychological factors are capable of contributing to the adoption of conservative ideological contents, either independently or in combination," the researchers wrote in an article, "Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition," recently published in the American Psychological Association's Psychological Bulletin.

Ikonoklast

(23,973 posts)
14. That's why smart liberal thinking people have cats as pets.
Mon Nov 19, 2012, 04:53 PM
Nov 2012

No lizard stands a chance with three or four kitties in the house.

hollysmom

(5,946 posts)
6. I don't know if it is a lack of intelligence so much as a lack of intellectual curiosity
Mon Nov 19, 2012, 02:27 PM
Nov 2012

I know several people who have started and run successful businesses, but they are just not interested in things like science or finding out the truth or facts. It is like all their energy goes into their businesses and/or families.

My one republican sibling insists his boys are in 2 sports per season and it seems they are all running all over the place to get them to their practices and games, there is not a book or newspaper in the house - they don't like clutter and have white rugs, no pets too much trouble - And they get very upset when I talk about politics because they really have no facts to argue back with. They listen to Rush Limbaugh and other talk shows when they are driving around.

I don't think they are stupid, they both did well in school. I just think they don't make understanding politics a priority, And science, they would ot read an article on science, that wold take time away from being exhausted all the time.

eta - edited fo fix typos and spelling - gah

progressoid

(50,940 posts)
18. I agree. I grew up in a very conservative area.
Mon Nov 19, 2012, 05:01 PM
Nov 2012

Looking back, a lot of people I knew that are now conservative, were often quite intelligent (at least by testing standards) but not intellectually curious or creative. Thinking outside of the box wasn't really done.

octoberlib

(14,971 posts)
19. Another neuroscience study found that Dems think more "globally"
Mon Nov 19, 2012, 05:17 PM
Nov 2012

This also ties in with a lack of intellectual curiosity .

The results found more neural activity in areas believed to be linked with broad social connectedness in Democrats (friends, the world at-large) and more activity in areas linked with tight social connectedness in the Republicans (family, country).


http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021706544

hollysmom

(5,946 posts)
21. Thanks for the link, I missed that.
Mon Nov 19, 2012, 10:51 PM
Nov 2012

I feel like I am very family oriented in personality, but because of my exposure at college and work and my curiosity about people, most of my friends are from out of the country or from different areas of the country. As I get older and my family is dying out or moving to other parts of the country, I am getting more and more "friends" dependent.

theoldman

(3,674 posts)
7. Let me put it this way.
Mon Nov 19, 2012, 02:45 PM
Nov 2012

Most Chinese and Jews vote Democrat and they are the most educated people in the US. I will admit that a lot of uneducated people vote Democrat but they are outnumbered by the uneducated Republicans.

rivegauche

(601 posts)
20. I know right?
Mon Nov 19, 2012, 05:26 PM
Nov 2012

What a waste of money on these so-called studies. I coulda told them all this stuff for free, and I bet you could have too.

Xyzse

(8,217 posts)
15. Even if I can agree. It still kinda sucks.
Mon Nov 19, 2012, 04:58 PM
Nov 2012

Because a lot of people in management positions fall in the conservative category.

That says a lot of things.

 

HiPointDem

(20,729 posts)
23. self-flattery.
Tue Nov 20, 2012, 01:15 AM
Nov 2012

liberals are actually kind of reactionary in a lot of ways.

one of the more stupid things about them is their obsession with their own smartness and other people's stupidity. they're convinced their pov is correct and they have nothing to learn from their supposed inferiors.

which is why they easily slip into things like harmful campaigns of pseudo-scientific moral uplift, which manifest differently in different historical epochs but are identifiable in all.

they don't recognize their own prejudices, is all. the claim their prejudice as truth, which is why they can be dangerous, just like conservatives, to whom they inevitably relate as reversed mirror image, as all factions are defined against their other.

imo. of course.

ailsagirl

(24,002 posts)
31. One possible exception: Dwight Eisenhower
Tue Nov 20, 2012, 03:35 PM
Nov 2012

Though, admittedly, I don't know a lot about him, I don't recall hearing anything that wasn't positive. It's the post-Eisenhower repukes who have come under fire.

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