Survey: Low IQ Leads To Racism And Extreme Conservatism

By Maeby Gever on November 24, 2013

 Studies correlate low IQ with rabidly racist and right-wing views.

Studies correlate low IQ with rabidly racist and right-wing views

Does talking to a Teabully leave you asking: What’s wrong with this person? Do Teabully posts and memes make you wonder if people, who believe those things, could be cray-cray?   Take heart! A 2012 Canadian study suggests conservatives with racist and extreme views just might be born that way.

Psychology Today featured psychologists Gordon Hodson and Michael A. Busseri’s findings in its April 22 issue. Hodson and Busseri work at Borck University in St. Catherine’s, Ontario, Canada. They concluded the following:

Lower intelligence in childhood  is predictive of greater racism in adulthood, with this effect being mediated (partially explained) through conservative ideology.

and

Poor abstract reasoning skills were related to homophobic attitudes which was mediated through authoritarianism and low levels of intergroup contact.

and

For those who lack a cognitive ability to grasp complexities of our world, strict-right wing ideologies may be more appealing.” and “people with less cognitive capacity will be attracted to simplifying ideologies.

According to University of Virginia psychologist Brian Nosek:

Reality is complicated and messy…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.

And the studies making the connections to low IQ and to the racists and far right wing views–that seem to be at the root of the views expressed by the GOP/Teabully party of today–go back to 1970 and to 1958. Psychological studies have also linked a Conservative political point of view to an authoritarian upbringing.


Psychological studies have longed linked the appeal to political points of view, such as Fascism, to an authoritarian upbringing.  For a refresher course on “Isms,” grab the free downloadable primer available at LiberalAmerica.org.

The current rise of the Christian Right embedding itself into the present GOP/Teabully Party is proof that there’s a link between authoritarianism and these political points of view. The “Christian Fundamentalist Nation,” of which Teabullies dream, has been referred to as an ideology that is:

A form of debilitating shortsightedness. It replaces reality with an idealized version that usually has too little to do with the real world to be workable.

We should be careful not to conclude all liberals are smart and all right-wing conservative/Teabully types are stupid.  And, we must also be careful not take IQ tests at face value. They’ve long been suspected of being culturally biased. But, the studies connecting low IQs to racist, homophobic, bigoted, and conservative thinking are there.

Conservative Teabully types will no doubt scream and stomp, yelling, “Liberal bias!” That, of course, wouldn’t be surprising. They deny facts and have very little interest in science. But, like the Affordable Care Act and other legislation about which John Boehner’s GOP/Teabully House of Representatives whines, why bother?  It’s too hard, and reading is for Liberals.
About the Author:
Maeby Gever (45 Articles)I am the voice of my human parents. Dad, 58, mom 56, both retired lawyers. Dad worked privately as a personal injury lawyer in the Philadelphia, PA area before retirement. He has a BA in Political Science, a Masters in Secondary Social Studies Education and he did some public school teaching before retiring again. Mom also has a BA in Political Science and she spent her entire 33 year career working as an attorney for a US Defense Department Agency located in Philadelphia, PA. She spent the last four years of her career as the Chief Counsel. She retired in April of this year. I have two human brothers, both Graduates of the George Washington University. My older human brother is working his way up in Airport Management at the Philadelphia International Airport. My younger human brother is a Peace Corps veteran.