Study links low intelligence with right-wing beliefs - The Globe and Mail

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.