CarnalNation

Are sexually exclusive liberal atheist men the smartest folks around?

A new study from researchers at the London School of Economics and Political Science says it's possible, reports CNN.  Led by evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa, the study looked at IQ scores of American middle- and high-school students and their political, religious, and sexual preferences seven years later.

It turns out that liberals had IQ scores that were, on average, eleven points higher than conservatives, that atheists scored about six points higher than non-atheists, and that men who were sexually exclusive with their partners had higher scores than men who were not (although women who were sexually exclusive did not.)

From an evolutionary standpoint, liberalism, atheism and male sexual exclusivity are all new ideas.  (Liberalism, by the study's definition, refers to those who are concerned for society at large and not just one's own family; it doesn't involve push-button issues like abortion or gun control.)  

Evolutionary scientists believe that it is advantageous for a woman to only have one partner; since being pregnant and raising babies is a time-consuming task, it makes more sense for women to want one reliable mate.  For men, however, the evolutionary goal is to produce as many offspring as possible.  That's why sexual exclusivity is a less traditional idea for men, and it may explain why monogamous men's IQ scores were higher than sexually exclusive women's were.

James Bailey, a George Washington University professor who was unaffiliated with the story, said that unconventional preferences may stem from a desire for a smarter mind to show superiority or elitism; according to Bailey, liberalism and atheism may be "ways to communicate to everyone that you're pretty smart."

The results will be published next month in Social Psychology Quarterly.