The British Cohort Study, conducted by academics at Brock University in Ontario, Canada, used information from two UK studies from 1958 (4,267 men and 4,537 women) and 1970 (3,412 men and 3,658 women), assessing intelligence at age 10 and 11, and then asking political questions at the age of 33.

The study claims that there is a strong correlation between low intelligence both as a child and an adult, and right-wing politics. People with low intelligence gravitate towards right-wing views because they make them feel safe. In adulthood, the children were asked whether they agreed with statements such as, ‘I wouldn’t mind working with people from other races,’ and ‘I wouldn’t mind if a family of a different race moved next door.’ They were also asked whether they agreed with statements about typically right-wing and socially conservative politics such as, ‘Give law breakers stiffer sentences,’ and ‘Schools should teach children to obey authority.’ The researchers also compared their results against a 1986 American study which included tests of cognitive ability and questions assessing prejudice against homosexuals.

Crucially, people’s educational level is not what determines whether they are racist or not – it’s innate intelligence, according to the study. Social status also appears to play no part. In psychological terms, the relation between intelligence and prejudice may stem from the propensity of individuals with lower cognitive ability to endorse more right wing conservative ideologies because such ideologies offer a psychological sense of stability and order. Right-wingers, the study says, tend to be less intelligent than left-wingers, and people with low childhood intelligence tend to grow up to have racist and anti-gay views. Clearly, however, all socially conservative people are not prejudiced, and all prejudiced persons are not conservative.’

The study, published in Psychological Science, claims that right-wing ideology forms a ‘pathway’ for people with low reasoning ability to become prejudiced against groups such as other races and gay people. (Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2095549/Right-wingers-intelligent-left-wingers-says-controversial-study–conservative-politics-lead-people-racist.html

Understandably, this news has caused uproar among the overwhelmingly right-wing readership of the Daily Mail, which had to stop the comments section of its blog.

This particular blog takes no sides in this argument, except to point out the words “all socially conservative people are not prejudiced, and all prejudiced persons are not conservative.” It does seem to be a very immoderate finding, adding fuel to the fire of distrust between political parties and their supporters. What do you think?