iq and political orientation

Introduction

The relationship between intelligence (IQ) and political orientation has been a subject of considerable research and debate. Various studies have explored how cognitive abilities influence political beliefs, party identification, and ideological stances, often yielding complex and sometimes conflicting results.

Key Insights

Intelligence and Political Centrality:
- Higher IQ individuals tend to have more centrist or center-right political orientations, with intelligence positively impacting political centrality even after controlling for variables like gender, age, education, and income.
Intelligence and Left-Wing Orientation:
- There is a positive association between higher IQ and left-wing political orientations, mediated by personality traits such as Openness to Experience and Agreeableness. This relationship is also influenced by cultural and environmental factors .
Intelligence and Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA):
- Lower cognitive abilities, particularly low verbal ability, are predictive of Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation. This suggests that individuals with lower IQs may be more inclined towards right-wing authoritarian beliefs.
Party Identification and Intelligence:
- Supporters of certain political parties, such as the Pirate Party and the Green Party, tend to have higher levels of intelligence compared to other party identifiers. This trend is consistent across different countries.
Regional and Local Variations:
- At the regional level, higher average IQ is associated with right-wing economic attitudes and trust in experts. However, at the local level, higher IQ is positively associated with both right-wing economic attitudes and liberal social attitudes.
Genetic and Environmental Influences:
- Political orientation has significant genetic components, especially in older individuals, indicating an increasing role of active gene-environment correlation from adolescence to adulthood. Shared environmental effects are more prominent in younger cohorts.
Personality Traits and Political Orientation:
- Personality traits such as Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness are significantly correlated with political orientations. These traits influence not only self-reported political identity but also attitudes towards specific political issues.

Conclusion

The relationship between IQ and political orientation is multifaceted and influenced by a combination of cognitive abilities, personality traits, and environmental factors. Higher IQ individuals tend to gravitate towards centrist or left-wing political orientations, with personality traits like Openness to Experience playing a mediating role. Conversely, lower cognitive abilities are associated with right-wing authoritarian beliefs. Additionally, genetic factors and shared environmental influences contribute to the development of political orientations, particularly as individuals age. Overall, intelligence appears to play a significant role in shaping political beliefs, but it is intertwined with a complex web of other factors.

Iq and political orientation

Summary

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

Political orientations, intelligence and education

Higher IQ levels are associated with politically center-right and centrist orientations, while education promotes more extreme political orientations in a Brazilian sample.

Beyond the Cultural Mediation Hypothesis: A reply to Dutton (2013)

The relationship between IQ and political leftism is primarily mediated by Openness to Experience, with personality and life history strategy playing a significant role in determining extreme or moderate political orientation.

Patterns and sources of the association between intelligence, party identification, and political orientations

Supporters of the Pirate and Green Parties have higher intelligence levels than other party identifiers, with a modest negative correlation between intelligence and political conservatism.

IQ and political attitudes across British regions and local authorities

Average IQ in Britain is positively associated with right-wing economic attitudes and trust in experts, but average SES is a better predictor of political attitudes than IQ.

Problematic constructs and cultural-mediation: A comment on Heaven, Ciarrochi and Leeson (2011)

Low IQ and verbal ability predict right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation, but the cultural-mediation hypothesis should be the default explanation for the correlation between IQ and political orientation.

Accessibility and the Political Utility of Partisan and Ideological Orientations

Accessibility of ideological and partisan orientations is crucial for citizens' political capacity, as it influences their ability to use these orientations in formulating political judgments and resisting political persuasion.

Personality's influence on political orientation extends to concrete stances of political controversy in Germany – Cross-nationally and consistently

Personality traits influence political orientation and attitudes towards specific issues, with conscientiousness being positively related to aligning with right-of-center parties and openness and agreeableness negatively related to aligning with right-of-center parties across various countries.

Genetic and environmental variation in political orientation in adolescence and early adulthood: A Nuclear Twin Family analysis.

Genetic variation in political orientation is significant in older cohorts, while passive gene-environment correlation and shared environmental effects are larger in younger cohorts.

Psychological Dispositions, Political Orientations, and a Theoretical Framework of Ideological Differences in Attitudinal Hypocrisy

The External-Philosophy Dispositions-Attitudes Model (EPDAM) posits that political orientations are influenced by external factors like demographics and education, while individual attitudes and attitudes structures are influenced by dispositional factors like personality and non-conscious traits.

Introduction to the Psychology of Political Orientation

Political orientation can be best understood by considering two dimensions, Right Wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation, to better understand subtle distinctions in political ideology and their influence on sociopolitical behavior.

Try another search