Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice

POSTED BY: SignyM
UPDATED: Monday, March 2, 2026 18:11
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1KIKI

Monday, January 30, 2012 3:37 PM

He wouldn't be the first to become disillusioned and reject his previous beliefs.

BYTEMITE

Monday, January 30, 2012 3:43 PM

I'm pretty sure he hasn't renounced them. Rather, his studies into racial intelligence seem to be the spur for his involvement in welfare programs for disadvantaged minorities.

Right action wrong minded, maybe.

1KIKI

Monday, January 30, 2012 4:54 PM

He and Stephen Jay Gould had an infamous debate, but I don't have time to read his half right now - I'm on my way to an appointment.

I've read in the past Gould's 'The Mismeasure of Man' http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=the%20mismeasure%20of%20man%20p
df&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCEQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.affirmativeactionhoax.com%2Fpdfs%2FGould.pdf&ei=h8kmT_GDFomciALDy635Bw&usg=AFQjCNGqw_4mbyiVdWRywCSLRM-HaXSydg&cad=rja which disputed various measures that have been done to 'prove' one kind of person was superior to another - from phrenology to IQ tests. He quite legitimately pointed out that these tests were/ are based on assumptions and carry their own built-in biases. And BTW the cultural biases in the IQ tests have NEVER been addressed.They still exist today embedded in the questions.

Jensen disputed that. Though I can't summarized his position (not having read it) the summaries I have read indicate that he believed quite strongly his tests, and results, were apolitical facts.

Tha doesn't sound like a liberal to me, or even a scientist.

SIGNYM

Monday, January 30, 2012 5:09 PM

Quote:
Well, there's SignyM, who posted it and apparently believes it.

I posted it. And I don't "believe" anything... a mistake some people keep on making.

BYTEMITE

Monday, January 30, 2012 5:20 PM

Quote:
from phrenology to IQ tests. He quite legitimately pointed out that these tests were/ are based on assumptions and carry their own built-in biases. And BTW the cultural biases in the IQ tests have NEVER been addressed.They still exist today embedded in the questions.

That is approximately my view of it.

Quote:
Jensen disputed that. Though I can't summarized his position (not having read it) the summaries I have read indicate that he believed quite strongly his tests, and results, were apolitical facts.

Tha doesn't sound like a liberal to me, or even a scientist.

Liberalism is defined by social actions and political alignments, science is separate from it.

And he wouldn't be the first person to ever think he was right when all data contradicts him. Were we to thin the ranks of science based on that, there would be very few of us. Even I have some paranoid tendencies not befitting a scientist.

SIGNYM

Monday, January 30, 2012 5:35 PM

Quote:
My understanding is about 20% of the population is conservative, 20% of the population is liberal, 10% is undecided, and 40% is independent. Your 40-50% who have no political compass, are you saying they have no moral compass either? Are you equating political activity with morality?

It's a study which I will have a hard time finding again, but I will try. What it did was probe the depth and consistency of a peoples' moral codes... what one thinks is wrong or right, and how thoroughly that logic has penetrated one's thinking. (It was part of a class on personality and moral choices that I took as part of management training.) So, about 50% of the people in the USA don't have a well-developed moral code. nor do they think that we- as a people- need one. "Whatever floats your boat" and "Don't bother me and I won't bother you" are typical. I think this MIGHT be correspondent with "independents", because studies have shown that "independents" are not so much "independent" as inconsistent. They respond to context, so if Jesus is presented as a revered, self-sacrificing moral teacher they will respond positively; but if he is presented as a homeless, unemployed hippie preaching love and peace they will respond negatively. (As an aside, I have read political apparatchiks from both parties say that getting the independent vote is like getting the attention of a 7-year-old with ADHD.)

Now, of the people who have strong moral codes, many rely on codes handed to them by traditional authorities... their parents, the church, politicians, their bosses, mentors or other figures of authority. There is right and wrong, and maybe some shades of gray, but their moral codes are fixed and mostly unexamined... this is always right, that is always wrong. For example, the death penalty is right but abortion is wrong. This could include the left-wing as well as the right-wing, although in this country it represents the right-wing more, simply because the right-wing represents "the authority" here.

The other group with strong moral values uses its moral code as a compass to keep heading in what they think is the best direction in a changing environment: what action is the better choice, given this situation? It requires a flexible approach to morality, judgment on which code takes precedence in a particular situation. This could include philosophers and theologians, but also atheists and agnostics.

So I guess the answer is: Yes, I think people who are apolitical also tend to be amoral.

SIGNYM

Monday, January 30, 2012 5:50 PM

Eh, there are too many definitions of "liberal" to make sense. Both the right AND the left have used it as a pejorative, so that the word no longer has any current meaning. The actual definition is

1.
a. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
b. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.
c. Of, relating to, or characteristic of liberalism.
d. Liberal Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States.
2.
a. Tending to give freely; generous: a liberal benefactor.
b. Generous in amount; ample: a liberal serving of potatoes.
3. Not strict or literal; loose or approximate: a liberal translation.
4. Of, relating to, or based on the traditional arts and sciences of a college or university curriculum: a liberal education.
5.
a. Archaic Permissible or appropriate for a person of free birth; befitting a lady or gentleman.
b. Obsolete Morally unrestrained; licentious.
n.
1. A person with liberal ideas or opinions.
2. Liberal A member of a Liberal political party.

BYTEMITE

Monday, January 30, 2012 5:57 PM

This actually explains a lot about our relationship.

SIGNYM

Monday, January 30, 2012 6:12 PM

Quote:
This actually explains a lot about our relationship.

You talking to me? If so: It does? I'm curious as to how.

BTW- I'm going to have to caveat my statement about "independents". There are a lot of people who self-identify as politically "Independent" simply because they're too uninterested in figuring out where they stand. That represents a large majority of independents (I've been told). However, there really are independent Independents, who have thought through their choices and really have decided that NO political party matches their ideals.

I read another curious factoid - just one of those little studies that sticks to my mind like lint to a gumball- that says that people stay married the longest who match each other politically. This was part of a study of Facebook interactions, where people tend to reveal their political leanings LAST, even after their weight. So at some point... the author is not sure where... potential mates suss out each others' politics. Wherever and whenever it happens, it's very subtle- and certainly not on Facebook!

BYTEMITE

Monday, January 30, 2012 6:17 PM

Well, it explains PART of it. I'm unlikeable and tedious without help from my political orientation.

Anyway.

EDIT: Yeah, I was talking to you. You kinda don't like me, and I now grok one of the reasons why.

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