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   Study links low intelligence with right-wing beliefs   
   Wency Leung   
      
      
   Researchers have found a possible explanation for why certain people are   
   prejudiced: they're less intelligent.   
      
   Children with lower general intelligence are more likely to become   
   prejudiced as adults, according to a Brock University study.   
      
   The study, published in the journal Psychological Science, examined data   
   from two large-scale British studies, and found lower intelligence scores   
   in childhood were predictors of greater racism in adulthood, which the   
   researchers controversially explain is brought about by adopting right-wing   
   ideologies.   
      
   A secondary analysis of data from a U.S. study also showed those with poor   
   abstract-reasoning skills were more likely to have anti-homosexual   
   prejudice, partially linked to authoritarian attitudes.   
      
   Lead researcher Gordon Hodson told LiveScience that the results of the   
   study indicate a vicious cycle, in which people with low intelligence are   
   drawn to socially conservative ideologies. In turn, those ideologies can   
   contribute to prejudices.   
      
   "Socially conservative ideologies tend to offer structure and order," he   
   said, explaining why those with lower intelligence may gravitate toward the   
   right. "Unfortunately, many of these features can contribute to prejudice."   
      
   The researchers found that people with lower intelligence also tended to   
   have less contact with other races and groups, which, Dr. Hodson said,   
   supports previous research that determined interacting with other groups is   
   mentally challenging and cognitively draining.   
      
   Dr. Hodson explained the findings do not mean all liberals are smart and   
   all conservatives are stupid, LiveScience.com reports. "There are multiple   
   examples of very bright conservatives and not-so-bright liberals, and many   
   examples of very principled conservatives and very intolerant liberals," he   
   said.   
      
   Previous research has suggested that the brains of conservatives and   
   liberals are wired differently.   
      
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