Interesting study

[0121stockpicker]

Are racists dumb? Do conservatives tend to be less intelligent than liberals? A provocative new study from Brock University in Ontario suggests the answer to both questions may be a qualified yes. The study, published in Psychological Science, showed that people who score low on I.Q. tests in childhood are more likely to develop prejudiced beliefs and socially conservative politics in adulthood. I.Q., or intelligence quotient, is a score determined by standardized tests, but whether the tests truly reveal intelligence remains a topic of hot debate among psychologists. Dr. Gordon Hodson, a professor of psychology at the university and the study's lead author, said the finding represented evidence of a vicious cycle: People of low intelligence gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, which stress resistance to change and, in turn, prejudice, he told LiveScience. Why might less intelligent people be drawn to conservative ideologies? Because such ideologies feature "structure and order" that make it easier to comprehend a complicated world, Dodson said. "Unfortunately, many of these features can also contribute to prejudice," he added. Dr. Brian Nosek, a University of Virginia psychologist, echoed those sentiments. "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." But Nosek said less intelligent types might be attracted to liberal "simplifying ideologies" as well as conservative ones. In any case, the study has taken the Internet by storm, with some outspoken liberals saying that it validates their suspicions about conservatives and conservatives arguing that the research has been misinterpreted.

 

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[GrizLeeBear]

People can make a study say anything they want. I don't pay attention to such studies or polls. Who cares?

 

[0121stockpicker]

Thought it was timely given some of the comments / discussions going on.

 

[Dave44]

And then;
5 Reasons Liberals Are Such Unpleasant People To Be Around - John Hawkins - [page]

"Don't get me wrong. Not every conservative has a winning personality and not every liberal is a toothache in search of a mouth to inhabit. In fact, one of the single nicest people I know is a liberal (Hi, Julie Joyce!) Yet and still, it's not a reach to say that most liberals, especially the ones that are politically active, are just generally difficult to get along with.

It's not just me saying that either. I've interviewed more than one big name conservative who has told me that they moved over to the right in large part because the other liberals they were around were such insufferable human beings.

John Hawkins: ...I always find the stories of people who ideologically move from the left to the right to be fascinating and I noticed that you used to be a liberal who even worked for Ron Dellums... Michael Medved: Ron Dellums helped to make me a conservative.
John Hawkins: How so? What caused you to move to the right?
Michael Medved: First of all, even at the time I went to work for Dellums, I knew better. Because I was never that far out. I mean I supported Robert Kennedy, not Eugene McCarthy.
John Hawkins: Dellums was even a Communist, wasn't he?
Michael Medved: Yeah, he basically was. I worked for Dellums for 6 weeks and then I couldn't stand it anymore. Because I think he so clearly demonstrated some of the most malign and malevolent tendencies of the American Left. Corruption, drug use, Communist sympathies if not Communist party membership."

​

 

[Dave44]

Oh Yeah, Timely

 

[onfire]

Yea huffy post NOW that's something to believe in. You mean there are conservatives in Canada?

 

[0121stockpicker]

Yea huffy post NOW that's something to believe in. You mean there are conservatives in Canada?

So you don't think racists tend to have low IQs?

 

[Dave44]

"In many cases, societal conventions represent the accumulated wisdom of previous generations. Through trial and error, they discovered that there are certain things you can do that help keep a society running well. There are reasons why people get together and sing Christmas carols in the town square, refuse to insult people immediately after they die, treat marriage as sacred, and don't turn funerals into campaign rallies. Because liberals tend to think they're smarter than all those old dead people simply by virtue of being liberal, they tend to ignore those conventions and create disorder and havoc around themselves in the process."

 

[0121stockpicker]

"In many cases, societal conventions represent the accumulated wisdom of previous generations. Through trial and error, they discovered that there are certain things you can do that help keep a society running well. There are reasons why people get together and sing Christmas carols in the town square, refuse to insult people immediately after they die, treat marriage as sacred, and don't turn funerals into campaign rallies. Because liberals tend to think they're smarter than all those old dead people simply by virtue of being liberal, they tend to ignore those conventions and create disorder and havoc around themselves in the process."

And it was once "liberal" thought to believe the sun was the center of the universe. Or that the people could rule themselves instead of kings. But I guess you would have been one of those folks saying the monarchy is fine and why do we need any change, etc.

 

[Dave44]

So you don't think racists tend to have low IQs?

I know one racist,, Voted for Obama,, Yells about Republicans giving all of his money to 'those' people. I tried to explain that conservatives simply wanted to teach people to stand on their own. But he would not believe me. He reads all the best rags, The Huff po, the Economist, the Times.

I just had to quit talking to him. A most disagreeable sort, ranting and raving about Bush, Reagan, Lincoln...

 

[Dave44]

"3) Liberals see people who disagree as evil: Liberals see themselves as part of a Manichean struggle in which they’re trying to create Utopia on earth while they’re being opposed by people who want to do evil for evil’s sake. In other words, liberals are about as complex as your average comic book from the fifties."

 

[0121stockpicker]

"3) Liberals see people who disagree as evil: Liberals see themselves as part of a Manichean struggle in which they’re trying to create Utopia on earth while they’re being opposed by people who want to do evil for evil’s sake. In other words, liberals are about as complex as your average comic book from the fifties."

The founding fathers were completely liberal in their thinking and the founding docents are some of the best examples of liberal political thinking ever made.

 

[0121stockpicker]

I know one racist,, Voted for Obama,, Yells about Republicans giving all of his money to 'those' people. I tried to explain that conservatives simply wanted to teach people to stand on their own. But he would not believe me. He reads all the best rags, The Huff po, the Economist, the Times.

I just had to quit talking to him. A most disagreeable sort, ranting and raving about Bush, Reagan, Lincoln...

So does this mean you think that folks who have racist thoughts generally have low intelligence?

 

[Dave44]

picker, I think all liberals have a low IQ. But why does that matter to you, you keep saying you are a registered Rep and voted for Romney.

 

[Dave44]

As Charles Krauthammer has said,

To understand the workings of American politics, you have to understand this fundamental law: Conservatives think liberals are stupid. Liberals think conservatives are evil.​

When you attribute disagreements with Barack Obama to racism, opposition to gay marriage to homophobia, standing against abortion as hatred of women, and a desire to balance the budget to loathing of the poor, you have a hopelessly simplistic view of the world that makes you utterly impervious to reason. Stupid, you may be able to educate, but evil, you have to defeat -- and liberals are seldom picky about the means or the manners they use while trying to do so.

 

[Crispin]

picker, I think all liberals have a low IQ. But why does that matter to you, you keep saying you are a registered Rep and voted for Romney.

Dagger to my heart! Somebody inform my patients their doctor has a low IQ.

 

[0121stockpicker]

So Dave, you do not believe that racists tend to have low intelligence?

 

[Dave44]

Picker, As stated the only racists I know are liberals,,,, yes,, low IQ



I keep missing the darn K!

Again, Crispin, the exception to the rule. Don't get all proud of yourself though,, how will you use your intelligence? I think you are not as liberal as you think.

 

[0121stockpicker]

Picker, As stated the only racists I know are liberals,,,, yes,, low IQ

I keep missing the darn K!

Your low opinion of liberals is very insulting to the founding fathers of this country.

 

[Dave44]

Again,, Republican,, What does it matter to you?
"5) Liberalism encourages arrogance: Liberals tend to believe they're brilliant, compassionate, moral, enlightened, perceptive, and courageous, not because of anything they've actually done, but just because they're liberal. When you completely divorce a person's self image from his behavior, it produces terrible results -- like liberals who hurl abuse at conservative women while believing that they're feminists or selfish left-wingers who've never given a dime to charity, but believe themselves to be much more compassionate than people who tithe 10% of their income.

Now, on some level, liberals know this is all a big sham. But, even that can be problematic because unstable high self-esteem actually causes more bad behavior and violent behavior than low self-esteem. As Roy Baumeister noted in Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty,"