I have some doubts about how much faith we should put into tests like the I.Q. Test, but it's surely a measure of a variety of factors relevant to intelligence. A recent study published in Psychological Science, showed that people that score low on the test in childhood are more likely to develop prejudiced beliefs later in life. In addition, the study also found that such individuals were more apt to develop socially conservative politics in adulthood.
One might conclude that people that have prejudiced beliefs and those that have more socially conservative political leanings are dumb. Of course, the data does not directly support that conclusion. At most, the data shows that such people probably wouldn't have scored very high on an I.Q. test as kids. But that's a really interesting finding. The authors of the study (both professors from Brock University) provided the following abstract of their paper:
"In an analysis of two large-scale, nationally representative United Kingdom data sets (N = 15,874), we found that lower general intelligence (g) in childhood predicts greater racism in adulthood, and this effect was largely mediated via conservative ideology. A secondary analysis of a U.S. data set confirmed a predictive effect of poor abstract-reasoning skills on antihomosexual prejudice, a relation partially mediated by both authoritarianism and low levels of intergroup contact. All analyses controlled for education and socioeconomic status. Our results suggest that cognitive abilities play a critical, albeit underappreciated, role in prejudice. Consequently, we recommend a heightened focus on cognitive ability in research on prejudice and a better integration of cognitive ability into prejudice models."
What do you think about this?
12 comments:
This is a tough question. I can't give a very authoritative response to this, but I can try my best.
I've known socially conservative people who are quite brilliant in several respects, but seem to limit their cognitive potential by their own prejudices and (perhaps) forever-ingrained beliefs. This has always been a bit of a mystery to me. I think that maybe socially conservative people are racists, bigots, homophobics, etc. because that is how they are raised from childhood. Perhaps their own parents were authoritarian (which is dangerous in itself), and so they never really rejected or seriously questioned the beliefs that their parents forced onto them. There is someone related to me who (I believe) has always scored very high on IQ tests -- well above average, for sure. But he is very conservative socially, seemingly a bit homophobic, etc. I have reason to believe his values were forced into his psyche from his parents when he was a child. Of course, children are very impressionable, and during the formative years of life habits tend to remain that are picked up via parents.
So, there are always exceptions like this one in correlations such as these. Generally, though, I have a tendency to think that maybe conservatives are very socially exclusive (probably because their parents were). But there are also social liberals that I've met who, I guess with reasonable justification, would probably not score very high on IQ tests during childhood.
The smartest people I've ever known have always been those who are most open and receptive to learning new things, even when they are uncomfortable with them. Exclusivity yields "close-mindedness," and that doesn't do anyone much good at all. But I think these kinds of people can easily fall into both camps. Racists, bigots, exclusive people, I will admit, often fall into the conservative group -- but there are many exceptions. Liberals like to say they are "open-minded". But, really, I'd like to see the stats for the social liberals too. Do they score higher, about the same, or lower? I don't know.
At the end of the day, I don't place much confidence in the IQ test either. I would probably place about an average on one, and I consider myself more conservative than liberal. I have learned to question my core beliefs, though, and that has, in turn, made me lean a bit more toward the liberal side on some issues. Certainly not all of them, though.
I scored an average score on the IQ with a score of 108 or 109 as a kid. I am socially politically a liberal, not because I scored higher or lower on the test, but because of my belifes. I had african american friends growing up, and would rather be around them then whites sometimes because they actually are more feeling and family oriented type people and some white people can get really harsh. I wasn't allowed having african american friends as a kid so I had to sneak around. I am not sure why I'm a social liberal or if it has anything to do with my score on the chart--but I am pretty sure it might have had something to do with the fact that my parents were also liberals, which were in favor of public education just like I am now because I have kids who go there. I guess political upbringing has something to do with personal belifes and how you were raised more than a score on a test.
I believe there is a little connection between racism an low IQ. but i think the problem is more of how you were brought up. YOu could be a genius and also a white surpremacist. I think the IQ plays into where and how you were brought up that made you a racist. For instance if you lived in a poor rural all white neighborhood growing up you might be a racist with a low iq because one-white people was all that was around and two- the school was very poor so your education was affected. I think this is where the connection between low IQ and racism comes from.
I believe that a person's IQ has nothing to do with whether they are racist or not. I feel there a few factors that influence whether a person is racist or not. First of all I agree with Sherry and Nicki that who are parents are and what they believe has a lot to do with how we as their children will think and act. I believe that we are all individuals and make our own choices but our parents are a huge influence on us. Also I think a persons friends have a lot to do with whether a person is racist. If you only hang out with certain people and aren't open minded to others you will never know what they are really like and the judgements you make about them will usually be wrong. I think that people tend to be stubborn and stuck in their ways and they don't want to try to get to know others so they just judge them and become racist. I think that if everyone is thought that everyone is equal it doesn't matter what their IQ is as long as they can grasp that single concept they won't be racist.
i agree with what Niki says how racism and I.Q do have a connection and racism has a lot to do with how you were brought up. there are a lot of people in my family that are racists because that's the type of environment they were raised in, but im not saying they're dumb by any means. i am not a racists because my family raised me to treat everyone no matter what color or race with respect, and i think because of that i am a better person than some people in my family but im no smarter nor dumber than them.
I believe that it is unwise to take this study too literally. While there is obviously a correlation between racism and inteligence, I'm sure the study was done very broadly and there is plenty of room for overlap. However, the research makes sense in certain ways. I was reading an article not too long ago about this same topic and it expained how intergroup activity with other races and different types of people can be very mentally draining. Most people that have the most contact with different groups and races have a higher intelligence level and are therefore subjected to different groups of people such as college peers, coworkers, etc. For example, I live in a small town which is 99% white. The only time I was really subjected to different cultures was when I came to college. If my IQ was low I probably would have stayed in my hometown for the rest of my life and not been subjected to the college campus and diversity it brings. And as Jacob said, intelligent people are more likely to be open to new ideas. Either way, this study only showed a broad correlation between racism and IQ, not officially prove anything about the two.
I don't see any relation between a low IQ and being conservative or racist. I think there are many problems with the way people are tested. I really don't think a I.Q. test is any way to test someone's knowledge. Everyone is not a test taker. A person doesn't need to be smart to not be a racist. Actually, there are plenty of racist smart people.
I think being racist or conservative has to do with your upbringing and the morals and values that were taught to you. People usually become the way they are by the society they grow up in. In a lot of cases someone would become racist or conservative because the people or groups they associated themselves with.
If you look at most little kids, they do not see someone for the color of their skin. Kids see people for who they really are. I only mention kids because they have not be exposed and do not understand many of the views and concepts of the world. Because of kids we know they everyone can see each other for who we are. Racist is a learned concept or view. People are not born racist, they become racist.
I don't see any relation between a low IQ and being conservative or racist. I think there are many problems with the way people are tested. I really don't think a I.Q. test is any way to test someone's knowledge. Everyone is not a test taker. A person doesn't need to be smart to not be a racist. Actually, there are plenty of racist smart people.
I think being racist or conservative has to do with your upbringing and the morals and values that were taught to you. People usually become the way they are by the society they grow up in. In a lot of cases someone would become racist or conservative because the people or groups they associated themselves with.
If you look at most little kids, they do not see someone for the color of their skin. Kids see people for who they really are. I only mention kids because they have not be exposed and do not understand many of the views and concepts of the world. Because of kids we know they everyone can see each other for who we are. Racist is a learned concept or view. People are not born racist, they become racist.
I don't see any relation between a low IQ and being conservative or racist. I think there is many problems with the way people are tested. I really don't think an I.Q. test is any way to test someone's knowledge. Everyone is not a test taker. A person doesn't need to be smart to not be a racist. Actually, there are plenty of racist smart people.
I think being racist or conservative has to do with your upbringing and the morals and values that were taught to you. People usually become the way they are by the society they grow up in. In a lot of cases someone would become racist or conservative because the people or groups they associated themselves with.
If you look at most little kids, they do not see someone for the color of their skin. Kids see people for who they really are. I only mention kids because they have not be exposed and do not understand many of the views and concepts of the world. Because of kids we know they everyone can see each other for who we are. Racist is a learned concept or view. People are not born racist, they become racist.
I agree with what Nicki has said. I believe that the IQ test has little to no effect on whether or not a person will be racist when they get older. I believe that it is mostly how a person is raised and where they are raised. If their parents are racist then there is a high probability that they themselves will be racist. If they are raised in a lower income community that is mostly white race then there is higher chance that they will regard African-Americans as inferiors to them and will have a hatred towards them even though the African-American has done nothing to them
I agree with what Roland said I do not believe that there is a legit correlation between IQ and racism or conservatism whether or not studies suggest it. I think that the biggest factor that leads to racism is the way are raised. Odds are if you are raised in a family that believes racism is acceptable and that there truly are races that are better than others then you too will probably become racist as well. However I do feel that there is a correlation between ignorance and racism. And when I say ignorance I do not mean brain power or anything that an IQ test could determine but instead the lack of being around people of a different race to see that they are truly just like you no matter what their eyes look like or the color of their skin.
I believe that there is some connection between racism and low IQ. However, I do not see a big relationship between the two. The smartest people can be the biggest racists.
Also, I think it is different from having a low IQ and being ignorant. Ignorance is what makes people racist and prejudice. Also, it is about how people are raised and the society they live in. If you are raised around a society where racism is acceptable, chances are you will grow up to believe that racism is acceptable. It is important to educate people not just to be book smart but also socially so that people do not grow up to be ignorant.
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