Are you right wing? If the answer is yes then you should probably look away now. A Canadian study has found that right wing people tend to be less intelligent than their liberal counterparts.
The study by Professor Gordon Hodson from Brock University in Ontario says that the mental ability of people in their childhood can be used as a predictor of political leanings and prejudicial tendencies in later life.
So, to break it down, the good professor is trying to say that right-wing, conservative people are stupid and prejudiced. That’s some controversial thinking there Prof.
The authors claim that people with low intelligence gravitate towards right-wing views because they make them feel safe.
The study finds that right-wingers tend to grow up to have racist and anti-gay views because they have a lower intelligence level. But, the findings say that education level is not a factor in conservatism – it’s only innate intelligence.
But, it’s not a complete whitewash for conservatives. The report give the caveat: “Clearly, however, all socially conservative people are not prejudiced, and all prejudiced persons are not conservative.”
Hodson writes: “right-wing ideologies, which are socially conservative and authoritarian represent a mechanism through which cognitive ability is linked with prejudice.
“For example, research has revealed that individuals who more strongly endorse social conservatism have greater cognitive rigidity, less cognitive flexibility and lower integrative complexity. Socially conservative individuals also perform less well than liberals on standardized ability tests,” said Hodson.
