Do Smarter People Have More Conservative Economic Attitudes? Assessing the Relationship Between Cognitive Ability and Economic Ideology.

Axel M Burger,Alexander Jedinger

doi:10.1177/01461672211046808

Abstract

Evidence on the association of cognitive ability with economic attitudes is mixed. We conducted a meta-analysis (k = 20, N = 46,426) to examine the relationship between objective measures of cognitive ability and economic ideology and analyzed survey data (N = 3,375) to test theoretical explanations for the association. The meta-analysis provided evidence for a small positive association with a weighted mean effect size of r = .07 (95% CI = [0.02, 0.12]), suggesting that higher cognitive ability is associated with conservative views on economic issues, but effect sizes were extremely heterogeneous. Tests using representative survey data provided support for both a positive association of cognitive ability with economic conservatism that is mediated through income as well as for a negative association that is mediated through a higher need for certainty. Hence, multiple causal mechanisms with countervailing effects might explain the low overall association of cognitive ability with economic political attitudes.

Highlights

In the political arena, actors often describe their opponents as incompetent or stupid (e.g., Anson, 2018; Mark, 2006)
We investigated the association of cognitive abilities with economic attitudes by synthesizing the extant empirical evidence in a meta-analysis (Study 1) and by testing hypotheses concerning possible mechanisms underlying this association that follow from different theoretical perspectives (Study 2)
Our meta-analysis provided evidence for a small positive association (r = .07) of cognitive abilities with economic conservatism, on average

Summary

Introduction

Actors often describe their opponents as incompetent or stupid (e.g., Anson, 2018; Mark, 2006). Parsimoniously characterized as reflections of a single underlying left-right or liberalism-conservatism ideology dimension. In contrast to this view, multi-dimensional accounts of the structure of political attitudes usually argue in favor of distinguishing between at least two key dimensions of political ideology (Carmines & D’Amico, 2015; Duckitt, 2001; Eysenck, 1954; Jost et al, 2003; Lipset, 1960): The sociocultural dimension refers to the tension between personal freedom, autonomy, and diversity on the left and the maintenance of common identity and traditional social norms and values on the right. Specific political attitudes can be used as proxies for estimating a person’s ideological orientation (e.g., Everett, 2013)

Methods

Results

Conclusion