One study has found a scientific link between low levels of intelligence and people with homophobic views.
The findings, published by researchers at the University of Queensland, Australia, support existing studies showing correlations between having low intelligence and holding prejudiced views.
However, this marks the first time that a link between lower intelligence and homophobia has been examined in populations outside the US.
Published in the journal Intelligence, the study included more than 11,500 Australians.
The research team analyzed data from the 2012 Household, Income and Labor Dynamics survey in Australia, with questions aimed at assessing respondents' cognitive skills, as well as data from another 2015 questionnaire that asked respondents regarding their opinions on equal rights.
Among other questions, participants were asked to indicate how much they agreed from 1 to 7 on the statement: "Homosexual couples should have the same rights as heterosexual couples."
It was found that the lower a person’s intelligence, the more likely they were to express prejudiced views toward same-sex couples.
The authors of the study write:
"There are known correlations between low cognitive ability and supporting prejudiced or anti-equality attitudes."
This paper adds to existing knowledge by providing the first analysis of associations between cognitive ability and attitudes towards LGBT issues.
The authors concluded by saying:
"Our results suggest that cognitive skills play a critical, albeit underestimated, role in prejudice. "Consequently, we recommend a higher focus on prejudice and a better integration of cognitive skills into models of prejudice."
The link was found to be particularly strong when assessing verbal ability, and was found to be true even after taking into account other variables such as education and socioeconomic status.
Source: Unilad
