Reasoning Ability and Ideology

Although much is known about the motivational underpinnings of authoritarian ideologies, less is known about the underlying mental abilities. In the present study, the relations between right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), social dominance orientation (SDO), and reasoning abilities were investigated. Participants (n = 198) completed measures of reasoning ability (Necessary Arithmetic Operations task, Diagramming Relationships task), RWA, and SDO. Greater RWA was only associated with lower ability to recognize hierarchical relationships; neither RWA nor SDO were associated with general arithmetic reasoning ability. Implications for understanding ideology are discussed.