I am not at all surprised….
In fact, this just reinforces what I already thought and observed through life experiences….
And the elected Republicans and GOP base certainly down play and belittle science and education….
They are playing to their audience and reinforcing their fears and prejudices to get elected….
So they can take care of their rich friends and Corporations….
The only other reason people are “conservative” is the when the Rich are trying to preserve their wealth!
From the Huffington Post:
The study, published in Psychological Science, showed that people who score low on I.Q. tests in childhood are more likely to develop prejudiced beliefs and socially conservative politics in adulthood.
I.Q., or intelligence quotient, is a score determined by standardized tests, but whether the tests truly reveal intelligence remains a topic of hot debate among psychologists.
Dr. Gordon Hodson, a professor of psychology at the university and the study’s lead author, said the finding represented evidence of a vicious cycle: People of low intelligence gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, which stress resistance to change and, in turn, prejudice, he told LiveScience.
Why might less intelligent people be drawn to conservative ideologies? Because such ideologies feature “structure and order” that make it easier to comprehend a complicated world, Dodson said. “Unfortunately, many of these features can also contribute to prejudice,” he added.
Dr. Brian Nosek, a University of Virginia psychologist, echoed those sentiments.
“Reality is complicated and messy,” he told The Huffington Post in an email. “Ideologies get rid of the messiness and impose a simpler solution. So, it may not be surprising that people with less cognitive capacity will be attracted to simplifying ideologies.”
via Intelligence Study Links Low I.Q. To Prejudice, Racism, Conservatism.
Lost in the 21st Century 