Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Low IQ Linked to Bigotry and Conservative Politics

Granted, there are smart conservatives, just as there are dumb liberals, but per scientific studies, a low IQ can lead to bigotry and conservative politics, which would explain why many conservatives have no use for science. It also explains why conservatives prefer religion -- because it offers structure. It seems most of the "establishment" republicans (that includes Newt) recognize this and exploit their constituents as much and as often as possible.
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. 
............... "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." Read more at LiveScience