Credit: Social Psych Online
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A recent study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology reinforced the notion that low IQ, an indicator of intelligence, is linked with prejudice against minority groups but furthered the conversation of prejudice with a surprising find.
Previous studies have confirmed that conservative social beliefs and prejudice against minorities—specifically those that have no control over their status, such as race, gender, or sexual orientation—is linked with having a low IQ. This idea among psychologists was so concrete that some even suggested that researchers should take into account cognitive ability when conducting studies on ideologies and prejudice.
While people with a lower IQ tend to be biased against people with liberal beliefs or minority groups that have no power over their status, researchers in a new study found that prejudice also extends to those with a high IQ but in a different way. Apparently, people with a higher IQ tend to be prejudiced against those with conservative values, such as religious fundamentalists. In a nutshell:
“People dislike people who are different from them,” study authors Mark Brandt and Jarret Crawford told Broadly. “Derogating people with different worldviews can help people maintain the validity of their own world view.”
Though the researchers put it plainly, there is a bit more to the story when it comes to how prejudice affects those along the IQ spectrum. For example, those with a low IQ typically saw the other groups as being distinctly different from them, making it easier to distance themselves from them and from the problems those groups faced daily.
A recent study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology reinforced the notion that low IQ, an indicator of intelligence, is linked with prejudice against minority groups but furthered the conversation of prejudice with a surprising find.
Previous studies have confirmed that conservative social beliefs and prejudice against minorities—specifically those that have no control over their status, such as race, gender, or sexual orientation—is linked with having a low IQ. This idea among psychologists was so concrete that some even suggested that researchers should take into account cognitive ability when conducting studies on ideologies and prejudice.
While people with a lower IQ tend to be biased against people with liberal beliefs or minority groups that have no power over their status, researchers in a new study found that prejudice also extends to those with a high IQ but in a different way. Apparently, people with a higher IQ tend to be prejudiced against those with conservative values, such as religious fundamentalists. In a nutshell:
“People dislike people who are different from them,” study authors Mark Brandt and Jarret Crawford told Broadly. “Derogating people with different worldviews can help people maintain the validity of their own world view.”
Though the researchers put it plainly, there is a bit more to the story when it comes to how prejudice affects those along the IQ spectrum. For example, those with a low IQ typically saw the other groups as being distinctly different from them, making it easier to distance themselves from them and from the problems those groups faced daily.
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