Intelligence Institute Study shows Fox News viewers have an IQ that is 20 points lower than the U.S. National average.
PRWeb – Tue, Dec 4, 2012
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Study shows that the Americans who watch Fox News have an average IQ of 80, whereas the national average is 100. Researchers were not "shocked" by findings.
Birmingham, Alabama (PRWEB) December 04, 2012
The results of a 4 year study show that Americans who obtain their news from Fox News channel have an average IQ of 80, which represents a 20 point deficit when compared to the U.S. national average of 100. IQ, or intelligence quotient, is the international standard of assessing intelligence.
Researchers at The Intelligence Institute, a conservative non-profit group, tested 5,000 people using a series of tests that measure everything from cognitive aptitude to common sense and found that people who identified themselves as Fox News viewers and 'conservative' had, on average, significantly lower intelligent quotients. Fox Viewers represented 2,650 members of the test group.
One test involved showing subjects a series of images and measuring their vitals, namely pulse rate and blood pressure. The self-identified conservatives' vitals increased over 35% when shown complex or shocking images. The image that caused the most stress was a poorly edited picture of President Obama standing next to a "ghostly" image of a child holding a tarantula.
Test subjects who received their news from other outlets or reported they do not watch the news scored an average IQ of 104, compared to 80 for Fox News viewers.
Lead researcher, P. Nichols, explains, "Less intelligent animals rely on instinct when confronted by something which they do not understand. This is an ancient survival reaction all animals, including humans, exhibit. It's a very simple phenomenon, really; think about a dog being afraid of a vacuum cleaner. He doesn't know what a vacuum is or if it may harm him, so he becomes agitated and barks at it. Less intelligent humans do the same thing. Concepts that are too complex for them to understand, may frighten or anger them."
He continues, "Fox News' content is presented at an elementary school level and plays directly into the fears of the less educated and less intelligent."
The researchers said that an IQ of 80 is well above the score of 70, which is where psychiatrists diagnose mental retardation. P. Nichols says an IQ of 80 will not limit anyone's ability to lead happy, fulfilling lives.
The study did not conclude if Fox News contributed to lowering IQ or if it attracts less intelligent humans.
P. Nichols concludes that he wasn't shocked by the studies' results, rather how dramatic their range. "Several previous studies show that self-identified conservatives are less intelligent than self-identified moderates. We have never seen such a homogeneous group teetering so close to special needs levels."
More info to this study can be seen here
P. Nichols
The Intelligence Institute
202-656-1746
You do realize that the whole tone and tenor of this press release points to this being a hoax that some morons at the Yahoo news desk were fooled into thinking was real? Right?
It's a troll/prank. The "Intelligence Institute" doesn't seem to exist outside of this press release, and everywhere that you find when you search for this "study" is just copy/pasting from the initial press release. P. Nichols, the lead researcher, also appears to not exist.
spaceviking wrote:They did the same thing with internet explorer users too.
I knew the hoax seemed familiar when I read about it. But, yeah, the "Intelligence Institute" doesn't exist, and according to at least one blog says the person at the phone number listed on the press release claims he can't release the study due to a "confidentiality agreement," claimed he did his research by calling residents of "rural areas" and claimed the whole thing was commissioned by a Republican group seeking to discredit the Tea Party.
What should have set everyone's hoax alarms off is the fact that it's close to statistically impossible for the most watched news channel in a nation of ~300 million people to have an average viewership intelligence more than a full standard deviation lower than the average. That said, every avid Fox News watcher I know is a complete idiot.
"I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark." - Muhammad Ali
"Dating is not supposed to be easy. It's supposed to be a heart-pounding, stomach-wrenching, gut-churning exercise in pitting your fear of rejection and public humiliation against your desire to find a mate. Enjoy." - Darth Wong
Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:What should have set everyone's hoax alarms off is the fact that it's close to statistically impossible for the most watched news channel in a nation of ~300 million people to have an average viewership intelligence more than a full standard deviation lower than the average.
1.3 standard deviations actually (1 STD of IQ is 15 as I recall). So that means only around 10% (well, 100-90.3 = 9.7% if you're pedantic ) of the population would have an IQ of 80 or Lower.
Granted, an äverage"means we can slog in people with a higher and lower, etc', but still, the statistics are not in the favor of this study if fox news really is the most watched.
Fox News dominated as usual, taking the top eight programs. The network averaged 2.6 million total viewers during primetime,
So, about 0.75% of the population? Less than 10%, less than 1% even! In which case, this could actually be the case.
Photography Genius is always allowed some leeway, once the hammer has been pried from its hands and the blood has been cleaned up.
To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.
Primetime isn't its main news hour, though. By referencing primetime viewers instead of news watchers, you're implying that (for example) the people who watch The Simpsons have an IQ of 80 or below.
Lord Falcon wrote:Isn't there anything we can do to stop Fox News? They are causing enormous damage.
Well, we could change the First Amendment to get rid of all that free speech bullshit I guess...
I'm (mostly) not saying this to mock you, I'm saying it because I care: If you don't calm the fuck down, you're going to give yourself an ulcer by the time you're 30.
"Do I really look like a guy with a plan? Y'know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it! Y'know, I just do things..." --The Joker
Lord Falcon wrote:Isn't there anything we can do to stop Fox News? They are causing enormous damage.
Time for you to pull your head out of your arse and calm the fuck down. You're the worst Chicken Little this forum has seen in years, going "Cluck-cluck-cluuuuuuuuccckkkk! The Sky Is Falling! The Sky Is Falling! We're Dooooooooooooooooomed!" in almost every single fucking thread you post in, with nearly every single post you make.
You have demonstrated that whatever the subject at hand, you know nothing about anything and yet you hyperventilate at every single goddamn thing that you think is bad. Now, in order to actually try to get somewhere, here are some tips you should heed:
THINK before you post!
Consider if you have anything of value to add to a discussion and post if you do. If not, don't.
If you don't know much about a subject, do some preliminary scouting first and find out. Google is your friend. You have repeatedly asked the sort of basic questions about things that you should have already looked up before you even opened your mouth. You have also repeatedly failed to take heed of any hints that you should try to better in the future. So this is not a hint, this telling you point blank to shape the fuck up in this regard.
There are more viewpoints and motives than just yours. Try to understand the viewpoints and motives of those you disagree with and you may actually get somewhere, even if their arguments don't persuade you. "Just because I think so" is not a valid argument, but it keeps repeating in your repertoire.
Please don't disrespect the creature depicted in your avatar and named in your user name any more than you already have. Right now every time your name comes up in a post or discussion, my thought processes go "Lord Chicken is at it again" because it's impossible to dignify you with your chosen user name until you've done something to earn it. I would be VERY surprised if I was the only one.
Warwolf Urban Combat Specialist
Why is it so goddamned hard to get little assholes like you to admit it when you fuck up? Is it pride? What gives you the right to have any pride?
–Darth Wong to vivftp
GOP message? Why don't they just come out of the closet: FASCISTS R' US –Patrick Degan
The GOP has a problem with anyone coming out of the closet. –18-till-I-die
Lord Falcon wrote:Isn't there anything we can do to stop Fox News?
Sure. Find the most compelling examples of Fox News lying for propaganda purposes (I'd suggest the warped caricatures they are said to present) Find an alternative news source that Fox News viewers can live with. Use the former to encourage Fox News viewers to switch to the latter. Do not try to use it as an opportunity to make them switch to media whose politics they oppose, or you will fail abysmally.
Lord Falcon wrote:Isn't there anything we can do to stop Fox News? They are causing enormous damage.
High-altitude nukes or another Carrington Event might do the trick.
Short of that, it's pretty difficult to mitigate the cultural influence of an echo chamber that has been built up over decades as a safe haven for social dinosaurs that would otherwise face a world that mocks their silly and outdated beliefs. Over time, however, older generations that grew up in darker, nastier times will die off, progress will accumulate, and those that resist change will be pushing back against an increasingly enlightened world. Organizations like Fox News and the Republican party itself will either change with the times or find themselves irrelevant. If anything, they've got more to worry about than us heathens.
"I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark." - Muhammad Ali
"Dating is not supposed to be easy. It's supposed to be a heart-pounding, stomach-wrenching, gut-churning exercise in pitting your fear of rejection and public humiliation against your desire to find a mate. Enjoy." - Darth Wong
) of the population would have an IQ of 80 or Lower. 
