"Left" people are smarter, according to study
People who support the right-wing political ideology tend to be less intelligent than those on the left, and people with low intelligence during childhood, when they grow up, have racist opinions and against homosexuals, says a controversial study recently conducted in Ontario , Canada.
Political ideology and intelligence: is there any relationship?
It seems that the people on the left are more intelligent, and those on the right, less. At least, this is what a controversial study affirms.
Conservative politicians are facilitators of prejudice against other individuals or groups, say Canadian academics. The document analyzes massive studies of the United Kingdom (of more than 15,000 people) in which the child intelligence with the political opinions in the adult age of these subjects.
The authors affirm that people with low intelligence position themselves with the political right because they feel more secure with this line of discourse. Fundamentally, the educational level of the people is not what determines whether they are racist or not, but that it is the innate intelligence , according to the authors.
Belonging to a certain social class does not predict ideology
Social status also does not play an important role as a predictor. The study, published in Psychological Science, affirms that the right ideology forms a way for people with low reasoning capacity to become racist and xenophobic.
Researchers say that cognitive abilities are fundamental in forming impressions of other people, and are key to having an open mind.
"Individuals with lower cognitive skills tend to defend more conservative right-wing ideologies because they maintain the status quo, the right provides a sense of order, of continuity with what is established, and requires a higher cognitive level to detect what works badly. a political system and therefore be able to make a criticism and a proposal for improvement "
Research and results
The study, conducted by the University of Brock in Ontario, Canada, used the information from two studies of the United Kingdom that were carried out in 1958 and 1970, where the intelligence of several thousand children of 10 and 11 years was evaluated. When they turned 33, they answered questions about politics , and from there the bulk of the data could be extracted to prepare the report.
In the first British study, which was carried out in 1958 by the National Organization for Child Development, participated 4,267 men and 4,537 women who were born in 1958.
In the second research carried out in the United Kingdom, the British Cohort Study, 3,412 men and 3,658 women were born who were born in 1970.
When they were already adults, they were asked if they agreed with statements such as, "I would not mind working with people of other races," and "I would not mind if a family of a different race lived by my side."
They were also asked if they agreed with the political ideology of the conservative right, such as, "It would give lawbreakers harder sentences," and "Schools should teach children to obey authority."
Bibliographic references:
- Original study: //pss.sagepub.com/content/23/2/187.full.pdf
