High IQ linked to political and sexual behavior, study shows

by Susan Marie Kovalinsky | February 27, 2010 at 09:30 am

2465 views | 20 Recommendations | 12 comments

Quote

The study looked at a large sample from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), which began with adolescents in grades 7-12 in the United States during the 1994-95 school year. The participants were interviewed as 18- to 28-year-olds from 2001 to 2002. The study also looked at the General Social Survey, another cross-national data collection source.

CNN news/ 2-27-10

A new study has found that political, religious and sexual behaviors may be reflections of intelligence, CNN reports.

Satoshi Kanazawa is an evolutionary psychologist at the the London School of Economics and Political Science; he has done a study correlating data on these behaviors with IQ.

Drawing from a large national U.S. sample, his findings showed that on average, people who identified as liberal and atheist had higher IQs.

(Not really a surprise, is it? Critical thinking tends to go with high IQ: One sees through traditional arguments. However, high IQ now seems to be prone to seeing through political correctness policy generated by the left!)

This applied also to sexual exclusivity in men, but not in women: Again, this may point to going against the traditional wisdom, which would go in opposite directions for the respective genders.

The findings are set for publication this March 2010, in the month's issue of Social Psychology Quarterly.

The report stresses that the IQ differences are statistically significant-- on the order of 6 to 11 points -- but not in any sense stunning, and that data should not be used to stereotype.

Identifying with ideology would appear to be a greater factor than IQ per se, although experience will show that reading and exploring and discussing ideas - a mark of high IQ - would then form ideology and identity.

Evolutionary novel and innovative moves did not benefit our ancestry, but may benefit us now, and are linked with progression and high IQ. Of course, as in the case of much political correctness, this has its dark side, the opinion of this author.

A Professor Bailey of George Washington University remarked also said that these preferences may stem from a desire to show superiority or elitism, which also has to do with IQ: Aligning oneself with "unconventional" philosophies such as liberalism or atheism may be a manner of signaling that one is "above the herd".

Kanazawa did not find that higher or lower intelligence predicted sexual exclusivity in women. This makes sense, because having one partner has always been advantageous to women, even thousands of years ago, meaning exclusivity is not a "new" preference.
For men, on the other hand, sexual exclusivity goes against the grain evolutionarily. With a goal of spreading genes, early men had multiple mates. Since women had to spend nine months being pregnant, and additional years caring for very young children, it made sense for them to want a steady mate to provide them resources.

Religion, the current theory goes, did not help people survive or reproduce necessarily, but goes along the lines of helping people to be paranoid, Kanazawa said. Assuming that, for example, a noise in the distance is a signal of a threat helped early humans to prepare in case of danger.

"It helps life to be paranoid, and because humans are paranoid, they become more religious, and they see the hands of God everywhere," Kanazawa said.

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Rory Cripps

at 10:39 on February 27th, 2010

Oh yes! The absurd nature of it all!

"The Hopi says that the Indians think in their chests, at their hearts."

Good point Roy! I, myself, often think about chests. And if my memory serves correctly Shopenhauer once said something to the effect that the unique physical marks on a person's skull have more to do with their fate in life than does any external impetus or force.

Susan Marie Kovalinsky

at 11:32 on February 27th, 2010

Rory, I am still guffawing (after having spat water on my keyboard when I read your comments after Roy's )

Rory Cripps

at 17:54 on February 27th, 2010

SMK: Anything to make the G laugh!

That Shopenhauer was some funny dude! Almost as funny as good ol' Soren who was no doubt the life of the party! But the two of them put together don't have a thing on our fine friend Mr. C!

Susan Marie Kovalinsky

at 18:05 on February 27th, 2010

Right you are , ha! ; ) thanks, Bro!

Albert Milliron

at 11:25 on February 27th, 2010

Since Liberals are smarter, I would have figured everything would be fixed by now. But I am just a low IQ Christian Conservative who sleeps only with one woman.... oh but I do sleep with dogs LOL

Rory Cripps

at 12:54 on February 27th, 2010

Politisite: I sleep with one man too! And I often have conversations with him in my sleep! But it never seems to get me anywhere. As to my dog, he sleeps with me but not the other way around . . . .

Hugh Askew

at 12:27 on February 27th, 2010

Did they show the link between liberalism and mental illness?

Come on, don't tell me they couldn't figure it out.

Rory Cripps

at 12:55 on February 27th, 2010

Hugh: Come on! You sound like Michael Savage!

Hugh Askew

at 13:23 on February 27th, 2010

Who is Michael Savage, and why are you saying those horrible things about me?

Rory Cripps

at 16:46 on February 27th, 2010

Hugh: OK! I'll go for your bait! HA! Savage (born Micheal Weiner) is a Jewish guy from Queens New York (my home town) that has a national radio talk show. He wrote a book titled Liberalism Is a Mental Disorder.

Susan Marie Kovalinsky

at 18:04 on February 27th, 2010

Both liberalism and conservatism have neurotic features and potential for mental illness. Being human is having a mental disorder. The only pure politics would be Platonic Idealism, and that is never lived in practice.