A recent study conducted on adults in the UK found that people with higher cognitive ability scored lower on moral foundations. The study, published this summer in the journal Intelligence, sought to gage people's response to the Moral Foundations Theory based on their overall intelligence. After two different studies, no difference was found between genders, but a person's intelligence revealed a different story.
The research suggests that analytical thinkers tend to override their baseline moral intuitiveness. But what does that actually mean? First, cognitive ability refers to problem solving, abstract thinking, memory, logic, language comprehension, and basic critical thinking. This isn't only IQ, but a person's ability to process and apply their knowledge. Think of it as a living scholastic aptitude test (SAT.)
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After testing to rate cognitive ability, subjects were then tested against The Moral Foundations Theory. The idea behind the theory is that, despite different cultures and populations, people tend to follow a similar set of themes and intuitive ethics. The theory follows six core ideas: care, equality, proportionality, loyalty, authority, and purity.
Surprisingly, the results of the tests found that people with higher intelligence found the moral foundations to be less important.
Care
Care has to do with the virtues of kindness, gentleness, and nurturing. This is the foundation of empathy. By feeling connected and emotionally attached to the community, people gain purpose and a strong feeling of belonging.
Equality
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Always a hot topic on the political playing field, equality looks to create fair circumstances. The idea is all people have equal opportunity and treatment. Communities offering equality have reduced resentment and foster a cooperative environment where people feel respected and included.
Proportionality
This concept is based on fairness and merit. People should get what they deserve and be treated by what they do, not just who they are. What you put in, you get out. This is a driving principle underlying a core belief of this country: that anyone can achieve most anything if they are willing to put in the work. Many would argue for its merit while others would call it wishful thinking.
Loyalty
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This is another popular topic of political leaders and followers. We are tribal by nature and greatly benefit from a feeling of belonging. Sacrificing the individual wants for the needs of the group, this is one of the foundational cornerstones of building communities.
Authority
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Authority encompasses the concepts of hierarchy and respect for traditions. Research shows we are genetically programmed to seek a social hierarchy. As much as many fight to climb to the top, feeling a part of the system is often enough to supply someone with a great amount of emotional security.
Purity
Perhaps you've heard the phrase, "Your body is a temple." The ideal is expressed through self-discipline, self-improvement, and spirituality. Striving to be noble and less carnal, people try to be the best version of themselves. The moral advancement and the elevation of the social consciousness of the community is believed to have incredible value.
These core values are believed to be inherent in all people, but are they? At least according to this most recent study, the more intelligent you are, the less you might care about them. However, author and literary genius Leo Tolstoy once famously claimed that kindness is one sure sign of a highly intelligent person and other studies back up his views. Maybe when it comes down to it, it depends on the person.
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Problematic homework question
A student’s brilliant homework answer outsmarted her teacher's ridiculously sexist question
From an early age, children absorb societal norms—including gender stereotypes. But one sharp 8-year-old from Birmingham, England, challenged a sexist homework question designed to reinforce outdated ideas.
An English teacher created a word puzzle with clues containing “UR.” One prompt read “Hospital Lady,” expecting students to answer “nurse.”
While most did, Yasmine wrote “surgeon”—a perfectly valid answer. Her father, Robert Sutcliffe, shared the incident on X (formerly Twitter), revealing the teacher had scribbled “or nurse” beside Yasmine’s response, revealing the biased expectation.
For Yasmine, the answer was obvious: both her parents are surgeons. Her perspective proves how representation shapes ambition. If children only see women as nurses, they internalize limits. But when they witness diversity—like female surgeons—they envision broader possibilities.
As Rebecca Brand noted in The Guardian: “Their developing minds are that little bit more unquestioning about what they see and hear on their screens. What message are we giving those impressionable minds about women? And how might we be cutting the ambitions of little girls short before they've even had the chance to develop properly?”
X users praised Yasmine while critiquing the question. Such subtle conditioning reinforces stereotypes early. Research confirms this: a study found children as young as four associate jobs with gender, with girls choosing “feminine” roles (e.g., nursing) and boys opting for “masculine” ones (e.g., engineering).
Even preschoolers avoided careers misaligned with their gender, proving sexist conditioning begins startlingly young.
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The problem spans globally. Data from 50 countries reveals that by age 15, girls disproportionately abandon math and science, while boys avoid caregiving fields like teaching and nursing. This segregation perpetuates stereotypes—women are underrepresented in STEM, and men in caregiving roles—creating a cycle that limits both genders.
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This article originally appeared last year.