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Liberalism, atheism, male sexual exclusivity linked to IQ

The IQ differences are statistically significant, but experts say the data shouldn't be used to stereotype or make assumptions.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* Behaviors may stem from desire to show superiority or elitism, which also has to do with IQ

* For men, sexual exclusivity goes against the grain evolutionarily

* None of this means that humans are evolving toward a future where such traits are the default

(CNN) — Political, religious and sexual behaviors may be reflections of intelligence, a new study finds.

Evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa at the the London School of Economics and Political Science correlated data on these behaviors with IQ from a large national U.S. sample and found that, on average, people who identified as liberal and atheist had higher IQs. This applied also to sexual exclusivity in men, but not in women. The findings will be published in the March 2010 issue of Social Psychology Quarterly.

The IQ differences, while statistically significant, are not stunning — on the order of 6 to 11 points — and the data should not be used to stereotype or make assumptions about people, experts say. But they show how certain patterns of identifying with particular ideologies develop, and how some people's behaviors come to be.

via Liberalism, atheism, male sexual exclusivity linked to IQ – CNN.com.

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