Intelligence Study Links Low I.Q. To Prejudice, Racism, Conservatism

[Mohammedini]

jim jeffries pwnd.

Lol he already pwned himself when he said he would love Newt Gingrich as president.......

[-Hyperion-]

Conservatives and Racists have been found to have a larger and more active fear center than more liberal leaning people.

so they're dumb AND cowards?

[squealpiggy]

I took a look at the study. It's a meta-analysis of other studies correlating performance on certain intelligence tests with some level of social conservative bigotry. I'm still sceptical of the results both of this analysis and of the earlier studies because there seems to be a real opportunity for confirmation bias involved. After all, academics are mostly progressive/left leaning, especially in fields like psychology. It's a good opportunity to prove that they are clever and that their opposite numbers are thick.

Mind you right wingers like Billo the Clown and Sarah Palin don't do much to refute the claims.

[Mohammedini]

so they're dumb AND cowards?

HAHA funny.
No it just means they re more emotional than average people.
Reaction to fear is most often aggression and hate.

Also They are found to often only highlight the negative aspects of a article or report and ignore the positive parts.

They would rather pick out facts that confirms their view of the world and ignore those who doesn't.

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

Every human being has prejudices. Its ingrained in our DNA, its a survival mechanism to be wary of people who are different than you.

Depends on how you were raised. I was raised not to look at people in any general way because of their skin color, race, religion or anything else. My brother ended up marrying a black woman, I am married to a dark skinned woman from the islands. They weren't conscious decisions, just the absence of prejudice that allowed me to get to know someone who someone else might not have even considered.

I took a look at the study. It's a meta-analysis of other studies correlating performance on certain intelligence tests with some level of social conservative bigotry. I'm still sceptical of the results both of this analysis and of the earlier studies because there seems to be a real opportunity for confirmation bias involved. After all, academics are mostly progressive/left leaning, especially in fields like psychology. It's a good opportunity to prove that they are clever and that their opposite numbers are thick.

Mind you right wingers like Billo the Clown and Sarah Palin don't do much to refute the claims.

I think "intelligence" and "Ignorance" are being misunderstood in this study by the people that read it.

It's interesting to see that there are lower IQ's but I wonder how much of that comes from the closed minded attitudes that conservatives tend to have over more progressive, liberal people which would sort of be common sense when you think about it.

I think this quote says it all for me:

"Reality is complicated and messy," he told The Huffington Post in an email. "Ideologies get rid of the messiness and impose a simpler solution. So, it may not be surprising that people with less cognitive capacity will be attracted to simplifying ideologies."

This I find to be more fitting when it comes to extreme conservatives in their way of thinking. It's not that they are stupid, they just choose to block out reality because it's less complicated to have someone think for you instead of going through the trouble of thinking for yourself.

When you do encounter intelligent conservatives, they tend to dispute certain things like let's say Global Warming by just creating counter arguments in a way a lawyer would just to win a trail and not necessarily trying to get to the truth. Basically just trying to win the argument for the sake of winning it.

[Mohammedini]

Depends on how you were raised. I was raised not to look at people in any general way because of their skin color, race, religion or anything else. My brother ended up marrying a black woman, I am married to a dark skinned woman from the islands. They weren't conscious decisions, just the absence of prejudice that allowed me to get to know someone who someone else might not have even considered.



I think "intelligence" and "Ignorance" are being misunderstood in this study by the people that read it.

It's interesting to see that there are lower IQ's but I wonder how much of that comes from the closed minded attitudes that conservatives tend to have over more progressive, liberal people which would sort of be common sense when you think about it.

I think this quote says it all for me:



This I find to be more fitting when it comes to extreme conservatives in their way of thinking. It's not that they are stupid, they just choose to block out reality because it's less complicated to have someone think for you instead of going through the trouble of thinking for yourself.

When you do encounter intelligent conservatives, they tend to dispute certain things like let's say Global Warming by just creating counter arguments in a way a lawyer would just to win a trail and not necessarily trying to get to the truth. Basically just trying to win the argument for the sake of winning it.

Time and time again you hit it right out the park.
Brilliant post!

You are fast becoming my favorite poster on B.S bro.
Green when I can !

[squealpiggy]

Depends on how you were raised. I was raised not to look at people in any general way because of their skin color, race, religion or anything else. My brother ended up marrying a black woman, I am married to a dark skinned woman from the islands. They weren't conscious decisions, just the absence of prejudice that allowed me to get to know someone who someone else might not have even considered.



I think "intelligence" and "Ignorance" are being misunderstood in this study by the people that read it.

It's interesting to see that there are lower IQ's but I wonder how much of that comes from the closed minded attitudes that conservatives tend to have over more progressive, liberal people which would sort of be common sense when you think about it.

I think this quote says it all for me:



This I find to be more fitting when it comes to extreme conservatives in their way of thinking. It's not that they are stupid, they just choose to block out reality because it's less complicated to have someone think for you instead of going through the trouble of thinking for yourself.

When you do encounter intelligent conservatives, they tend to dispute certain things like let's say Global Warming by just creating counter arguments in a way a lawyer would just to win a trail and not necessarily trying to get to the truth. Basically just trying to win the argument for the sake of winning it.

The lawyer analogy is a perfect fit as well. It's always a defense lawyer tactic as well. A prosecutor has to prove a case. All a defense lawyer has to do is establish doubt.

[AKATheMack]

Depends on how you were raised. I was raised not to look at people in any general way because of their skin color, race, religion or anything else. My brother ended up marrying a black woman, I am married to a dark skinned woman from the islands. They weren't conscious decisions, just the absence of prejudice that allowed me to get to know someone who someone else might not have even considered.

Im not saying people should embrace their prejudices, but they're the product of evolution. Without a pack mentality **** sapiens would have never survived, we're programmed to stick with what is comfortable to us and to be wary of those who are different. Its a fear of the unknown, its the reason why the most prejudiced people are usually from the most highly segregated areas. Its not necessarily that these people aren't intelligent, but they are ignorant about the people the prejudice is directed towards.

[Drunken Cat]

I took a look at the study. It's a meta-analysis of other studies correlating performance on certain intelligence tests with some level of social conservative bigotry. I'm still sceptical of the results both of this analysis and of the earlier studies because there seems to be a real opportunity for confirmation bias involved. After all, academics are mostly progressive/left leaning, especially in fields like psychology. It's a good opportunity to prove that they are clever and that their opposite numbers are thick.

Mind you right wingers like Billo the Clown and Sarah Palin don't do much to refute the claims.

Of course, any study needs to be regarded with skepticism, as no one study, or small group of studies, can be definitive.

Regarding what you say, that "academics are mostly progressive/left leaning"; when typing this did it occur to you that most academics also have above-average intelligence (as measured by things like, say, IQ tests?)

Not saying that is much confirmation of the supposed tendency either, but it does cast your comment in a slightly ironic light. But I get your point, kind of.

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

Im not saying people should embrace their prejudices, but they're the product of evolution. Without a pack mentality **** sapiens would have never survived, we're programmed to stick with what is comfortable to us and to be wary of those who are different. Its a fear of the unknown, its the reason why the most prejudiced people are usually from the most highly segregated areas. Its not necessarily that these people aren't intelligent, but they are ignorant about the people the prejudice is directed towards.

I'm not disagreeing with you at all and I understand what your point is. I just think that with proper education and upbringing people have really changed.

Take the sexuality of black women for example. I have a 70+ year old boss who is a super nice man, very intelligent and has been successful his entire life.

He has a picture of a topless black woman from a recent trip to Africa as a beverage coaster on his desk. When one of his grandsons asked him about it (who is about 6 yrs old) he said it was no big deal because it was "tribal nudity"

As if the naked body of a black woman isn't really nudity the way we see it because how could you possibly be attracted to a black woman....right?

Yet kids today see black, white, hispanic in the same light for the most part because of the videos, movies and tv they see and how women of color are sexualized beautiful.

So I understand what you are saying but with proper education and exposure, those natural instincts you talk about can be changed.