Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice

[sofa king]

44. Which brings us to a related study....

Your observation and others below square quite well with another study quite relevant to this discussion (.pdf file):

http://psychoanalystsopposewar.org/resources_files/ConsevatismAsMotivatedSocialCognition.pdf

"Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition."

That article does a good job of defining the "right wing authoritarian," who were the 23% of Americans who supported George W. Bush no matter what. They are motivated by fear and uncertainty.

The article deftly avoids the smart-or-stupid issue by simply citing other studies which show that RWAs have trouble thinking logically. Which is a smart guy's way of calling someone else stupid... I think.

They're aware enough of their liabilities to be afraid, as you noticed. Because they can't think logically, they tend to be believers, and they believe whatever they are told by the authority figures they trust. They also want guarantees about the future, hence the heavy religion. It's probably also no coincidence that Newt Gingrich called himself a "Futurist" as his crappy little Georgia college. He was building his cult--or trying to.

American conservative leaders figured out long ago that the messages can be contradictory as hell as long as the messenger remains consistent and authoritative in bearing. I think Reagan and W. were both dumbass RWAs who were carried along by a circle of manipulators--the authorities they trusted.