Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 19, 2025

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
Published on: September 28, 2018
Do Smarter People Have More Conservative Economic Attitudes? Assessing the Relationship Between Cognitive Ability and
Alexander Jedinger1, Axel M Burger1
1GESIS-Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Cologne, Germany.
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.
More Related Videos
08:24The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
Published on: August 25, 2023
11:51Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making
Published on: March 2, 2011
Related Concept Videos
Language and Cognition
Cognitive Dissonance
Biological Influences on Intelligence
The Influence of Cognition on Affect
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Theory of Attribution II: Kelley's Covariation Theory