New research shows high-IQ men reject conservative politics: report

PsyPost reports a new study is revealing that average-intelligence men have a more conservative mentality, while gifted men and women tend to be more varied.

The study, “Exploring exceptional minds: Political orientations of gifted adults,” authored by Maximilian Krolo, Jörn R. Sparfeldt, and Detlef H. Rost, sought to discover if distinct political patterns emerge when comparing gifted adults to a control group of average intelligence.

The exhaustive multi-decade study began by administering more than 7,000 third-grade students standardized intelligence tests to measure reasoning abilities and the speed at which students processed information. Administrators then identified a group of gifted students with an IQ of 130 or higher and a control group of non-gifted students.

Six years later, when the students were in the ninth grade, the team tested them again to confirm their IQ and rule out a fluke test or lucky streak. Then, roughly 35 years after they were first identified, researchers sent them surveys to assess their political orientations.

“Specifically, non-gifted men scored higher on conservatism than gifted men,” reports PsyPost. “The non-gifted men were more likely to endorse values related to tradition and strict social order. Gifted men were less likely to hold these traditional conservative views.”

Researchers noted the difference among the women in the study was not so obvious, however, with gifted and non-gifted women both showing similar levels of comparatively lower conservatism. The divergence, reports researchers, was unique to the male participants.

“The team interpreted the findings through the lens of cognitive flexibility,” reports PsyPost. “They suggest that non-gifted men might rely more on traditional perspectives when processing complex social issues. This reliance could lead to higher conservatism scores.”

On the other hand, researchers believe gifted men may possess greater cognitive flexibility, which allows them to more easily process diverse perspectives. Consequently, they may be less inclined to adhere to rigid traditional norms.

Gifted adults appear to be as politically diverse and moderate as the rest of the population, but researchers say the “one notable exception” regarding non-gifted men’s preference for conservatism warrants further investigation.

The study relied on self-reported beliefs retrieved through surveys, however. And while honest reporting is assumed, researchers say it is possible that respondents sometimes describe themselves “differently than their actions might suggest.”