People “on the Left” Are More Intelligent, According to Study

People who support 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 and anti-gay opinions, says a controversial study recently conducted in Ontario , Canada.

Political ideology and intelligence: is there a relationship?

It seems that people on the left are more intelligent, and those on the right are less notable for their IQ level. At least, this is what a controversial study claims.

Conservative politicians are enablers of prejudice against other individuals or groups, Canadian academics say. The document analyzes massive studies from the United Kingdom (of more than 15,000 people) in which the child intelligence with the political opinions in the adulthood of these subjects.

The authors affirm that people with low intelligence position themselves with the political right because they feel safer with that line of discourse. Fundamentally, people’s educational level is not what determines whether they are racist or not, but rather it is the innate intelligence according to the authors.

Membership in 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 Scienceclaims that right-wing ideology forms a pathway for people with low reasoning abilities to become racists and xenophobes.

Researchers affirm that cognitive abilities are fundamental in forming impressions of other people, and are key when it comes to having an open mind.

“Individuals with lower cognitive abilities tend to defend more conservative right-wing ideologies, since they maintain the status quo. The right provides a sense of order, of continuity with what is established. A higher cognitive level is required to detect what is going wrong in a political system and therefore be able to make a criticism and a proposal for improvement”

Research and results

The study, conducted by Brock University in Ontario, Canada, used data from two UK studies conducted in 1958 and 1970, where the intelligence of several thousand 10- and 11-year-old children was tested. 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 Child Development Organization4,267 men and 4,537 women who were born in 1958 participated.

In the second investigation carried out in the United Kingdom, the British Cohort Study, 3,412 men and 3,658 women who were born in 1970 participated.

As adults, they were asked whether they agreed with statements such as: “I wouldn’t mind working with people of other races,” and “I wouldn’t mind if a family of a different race lived next to me.”

They were also asked if they agreed with the political ideology of the conservative right, such as, “I would give lawbreakers harsher sentences,” and “Schools should teach children to obey authority.”