Summary: A new study suggests a correlation between higher cognitive abilities and voting “Remain” in the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Analyzing data from 3,183 UK couples, the study found that individuals with higher cognitive skills, as well as those with spouses possessing higher cognitive abilities, were more likely to vote “Remain.”
The research, which controlled for various socioeconomic and personality traits, adds to the evidence that higher cognitive abilities may help in recognizing and resisting misinformation.
This study highlights the potential impact of cognitive skills on political decisions and susceptibility to misinformation.
Key Facts:
- The study shows a strong statistical link between higher cognitive ability and voting “Remain” in the Brexit referendum.
- Spouses with higher cognitive abilities also influenced the likelihood of voting “Remain.”
- The research suggests that higher cognitive ability may provide resilience against misinformation and disinformation.
Source: PLOS
A new analysis suggests that a person with higher cognitive ability may have been more likely to vote “Remain” in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and that a spouse’s cognitive skills may also be linked to Brexit voting decisions.
Chris Dawson and Paul Baker of the University of Bath, UK, present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on November 22, 2023.
Having higher cognitive ability has previously been associated with a greater tendency to recognize and resist misinformation. Studies have also shown that the UK public received a large volume of misinformation about the referendum prior to voting for the UK to withdraw from the EU (“Brexit”).
However, while a growing body of research has investigated potential links between people’s Brexit votes and socioeconomic, sociodemographic, and psychological factors, less research has addressed the potential role of cognitive ability in their decisions.
Dawson and Baker analyzed data on 3,183 heterosexual UK couples collected as part of a large survey study called Understanding Society. They examined whether there were any links between participants’ reporting that they had voted “Leave” or “Remain” and their cognitive ability—as measured by their performance on a variety of tasks.
The researchers statistically accounted for other factors that could also be linked to voting decisions, such as socioeconomic and sociodemographic traits, political preferences, and a widely studied set of personality traits known as the Big Five.
The analysis revealed a strong statistical link between higher cognitive ability and having voted “Remain”. In addition, people whose spouse had higher cognitive ability were significantly more likely to vote “Remain”. In cases where one spouse voted “Remain” and the other “Leave”, having significantly higher cognitive ability than one’s spouse was associated with an even higher chance of voting to Remain.
The researchers note possible underlying explanations for their findings. For instance, misinformation about the referendum could have complicated decision making for people with low cognitive ability. They also suggest the need for ways to avoid such complications in the face of increasing amounts of misinformation.
The authors add: “This study adds to existing academic evidence showing that low cognitive ability makes people more susceptible to misinformation and disinformation. People with lower cognitive ability and analytical thinking skills find it harder to detect and discount this type of information.”
About this political neuroscience and cognition research news
Author: Hanna Abdallah
Source: PLOS
Contact: Hanna Abdallah – PLOS
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Cognitive ability and voting behaviour in the 2016 UK referendum on European Union membership” by Chris Dawson et al. PLOS ONE
Abstract
Cognitive ability and voting behaviour in the 2016 UK referendum on European Union membership
On June 23rd 2016 the UK voted to leave the European Union. The period leading up to the referendum was characterized by a significant volume of misinformation and disinformation.
Existing literature has established the importance of cognitive ability in processing and discounting (mis/dis) information in decision making.
We use a dataset of couples within households from a nationally representative UK survey to investigate the relationship between cognitive ability and the propensity to vote Leave / Remain in the 2016 UK referendum on European Union membership.
We find that a one standard deviation increase in cognitive ability, all else being equal, increases the likelihood of a Remain vote by 9.7%. Similarly, we find that an increase in partner’s cognitive ability further increases the respondent’s likelihood of a Remain vote (7.6%).
In a final test, restricting our analysis to couples who voted in a conflicting manner, we find that having a cognitive ability advantage over one’s partner increases the likelihood of voting Remain (10.9%).
An important question then becomes how to improve individual and household decision making in the face of increasing amounts of (mis/dis) information.
