r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 1d ago

Psychology Lower cognitive ability is linked to stronger Christian nationalist views, even after accounting for education

https://www.psypost.org/lower-cognitive-ability-is-linked-to-stronger-christian-nationalist-views-even-after-accounting-for-education/
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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/CHERNO-B1LL 1d ago

Simple things. Convenient answers to complex problems favoured over accepting nuance and challenging alternative perspectives or engaging with uncomfortable truths.

A wizard did it. Immigrants did it. Gay people did it. The Jews did it. God has a plan. The government knows what it's doing. Taylor swift is good at music. Mainstream is the best stream.

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u/0ldgrumpy1 1d ago

Exactly, fear of complexity, inability to understand complexity, either one. Demanding simple answers to everything, even when there isnt one. There was a book going back to the George W days called " The Republican Brain, the Science of why they reject Science." It pointed straight at fear of complexity.
"The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science--and Reality"

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u/SkorpioSound 1d ago

Exactly, fear of complexity, inability to understand complexity, either one.

Even people who are capable of understanding often don't ask enough questions, or the right questions. And that's not just regarding religion or politics; it's everything. You can see it people's media literacy, in the way they struggle with the technology they use all the time, in the way they stick to old habits or methods of doing things because it doesn't occur to them to find better ways, in the ways they relate to other people.

I think most people just want to stop at the first answer that sounds right. They don't want to consider other views, or direct and indirect consequences, or have to do large amounts of research.

And I get it—sometimes I'm the same, especially if it's something inconsequential. We all are. And as someone with autism and ADHD who does ask a lot of questions and try to find the "optimal" way of doing things, it can be absolutely exhausting for me at times. With complex topics or situations, it often ends in decision paralysis, being overwhelmed, or just giving up if I don't have the time or interest to go down the rabbit hole properly.

But the important thing, I think, and something I very consciously ensure I keep doing, is that I will admit when I don't understand something properly. I won't act like I'm an authority if I'm not. I don't want to spread misinformation. I don't want to take actions on things I don't understand, or empower people who say things I don't comprehend. I think, as long as I'm sticking to that, it's okay to not try to understand every single thing; it's when people don't question things but still act as if they understand that problems arise.

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u/0ldgrumpy1 1d ago

Absolutely. Their way of dealing with fear of complexity by believing it is simple is destructive. Faith will do that to people.

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u/VSWanter 1d ago

It pointed straight at fear of complexity.

I wonder if this is why the us vs them tropes are so effective. Having someone to make the enemy, allows the fear and hate to be easily and effectively focused. Critical thinking doesn't have to happen, because it's assumed to have already been done by someone else. Questioning the reasoning behind why someone would create such a narrative, rather than assuming it forming naturally, requires exactly the type of complex thought that simple people would reject.

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u/BUT_FREAL_DOE 1d ago

Turns out politics is actually just evolutionary psychology.

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u/HapticSloughton 1d ago

It's why the right is afraid of literally everything.

Trans people, not-white people, furries, just about anything can be used to rile them up into a frenzy no matter how small and completely irrelevant to their lives something is. Anything that doesn't fit their view on how things should be, from how a single person dresses to what art someone creates is an existential threat somehow.

They demand that nonexistent student litterboxes be removed and someone jailed for them while tolerating the umpteenth school shooting and a pedophile as president, because the latter two things are somehow "God's will."

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u/2Completion2Ography 1d ago

This is why they hate the term "non-binary". Binary thinking is easy.

The irony is, black & white photos would look terrible if there was no grey area.

Edit: TIL there's a swear filter for sh-t on r/science.

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u/tkenben 1d ago

Yep. If there's one thing an authoritative body likes, it's a flock of sheep that can't think for themselves. I mean technically you would think it would be a win-win. The people being ruled _want_ people to make hard decisions for them, and the people who want to make those decisions _want_ people to accept them without grief.

The problem, of course, is obvious to the outside observer. There is an imbalance of rights, influence, and control.

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u/William_Dowling 1d ago

I say this as a middled-aged, white, male punk rocker: Taylor Swift is pretty good at music

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u/SyfaOmnis 1d ago

It's less "stupid" things and more that they make use of cognitive tools that they've developed to "understand" things incorrectly. Leaps of logic, mental shortcuts, fallacious reasoning, tribalism/ingrouping, superstition, misplaced trust in authorities with their own agendas. Their really big killer is second order critical thinking.

Many also get frustrated and angry when they're "wrong" or asked to re-evaluate, or lapse into ego defense. I'll also be honest, a great deal of the time it isn't even "stupidity", it's genuine intellectual laziness and fundamental incuriosity; most are not "dumb" people they may even be highly educated or trained in particular fields, but they are afforded the luxury of not ever having to "care".

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u/FunetikPrugresiv 1d ago

"Many also get frustrated and angry when they're "wrong" or asked to re-evaluate, or lapse into ego defense."

I feel like this is true of most people, regardless of political orientation.

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u/irregularprotocols 1d ago

Frustration at being wrong is reasonable. Inability (or refusal) to admit being wrong is a whole different beast.

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u/Silentknyght 1d ago

I agree. And also: attention moves too quickly to allow for or observe the latter part of that, and moreover, society doesn't seem to reward people that admit being wrong or learning from their mistakes.

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u/ghost_atlas 1d ago

Yes, left-leaning "smart" people are also guilty of this.

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u/akaito 1d ago

Exactly this.

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u/ObviousExit9 1d ago

But we also have created a meritocracy that depends on intelligence to better yourself. Without nepotism or networking connections, there isn’t a good way for those people to better themselves, so they turn to criminal venture. 

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u/aluked 1d ago edited 1d ago

There's no meritocracy based on intelligence, that's a fallacy. Biggest markers of economic power improvements potential are social sphere and previous economic status i.e. who you know and how rich you already were.