Decades-Long Study Finds Non-Gifted Men More Conservative Than Gifted Men

Overview

• Researchers followed more than 7,000 third-graders identified as gifted (IQ ≥ 130) or non-gifted, retesting in ninth grade and surveying politics about 35 years later.
• An interaction between giftedness and sex appeared only on conservatism, with non-gifted men endorsing more traditional, order-focused values than gifted men.
• Women showed no comparable split by gifted status, with both groups reporting similar, comparatively lower conservatism.
• Other ideological measures—economic libertarianism, socialism, and liberalism—did not differ significantly between gifted and non-gifted participants.
• The authors, based at Saarland University and Philipps-University Marburg, invoke cognitive flexibility to explain the male pattern and call it a notable exception that warrants further study.