Intelligence and Student Political Activism

In: Social science quarterly, Band 53, Heft 3, S. 557-562

Abstract

A positive r between intellectual ability & leftist ideology has been empricially documented. S. M. Lipset has argued that activism itself is positively related to intelligence. To test this, a sample of student pol'al activists at the U of Minnesota was compared with the general student pop there. The 39 campus pol'al groups were classified into 4 broad ideological categories--Right, Right Center, Left Center, & Left. Data on 84 F & 156 M pol'al student activists are used. 9 measures of intellectual ability in the R's were also utilized. It is found that the activists, taken together or separately by sex on each of the various ability & achievement tests, are more capable than a large majority of either beginning freshmen or all U students. Overall, the data offer moderate support for Lipset's argument, but further res with samples of activists from other types of U's, particularly highly selective public & private Sch's where activism has been relatively more extensive, is needed. In addition, there is a definite need for res with samples of adult activists so that the conclusion reached here may be tested to see if it may be extended beyond student activists to include pol'al activists in general. 1 Table. M. Maxfield.