• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Thursday November 30 2023
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Cognitive ability mattered in the UK’s vote for Brexit, the University of Bath’s School of Management finds

New research by economic academics the University of Bath’s School of Management has found that higher cognitive ability was strongly linked to voting to Remain in the 2016 UK referendum on European Union Membership.

But the study into the UK’s decision to leave the European Union – still the subject of division and resentment in the UK after seven years – also found that 36 per cent of Leave voters had higher cognitive ability than the average Remain voter.

“Depending on which side of the debate you fall, reading this may fill you with anger or joy. However, both these emotions are an error of judgement,” said lead author Dr Chris Dawson, a senior lecturer and associate professor, whose research is positioned in labour economics and behavioural economics.

The study shows found cognitive skills – including memory, verbal fluency, fluid reasoning and numerical reasoning – were correlated with how people decided to vote.

“It adds to existing academic evidence showing that low cognitive ability makes people more susceptible to misinformation and disinformation,” said Chris.

“People with lower cognitive ability and analytical thinking skills find it harder to detect and discount this type of information.

“We know that evidence has been put forward that information provided to the public in the months leading up to the referendum was contradictory, false and often fraudulent, especially regarding the pro-Leave campaign, and that this information proliferated on social media platforms.”

The research used a nationally representative sample of 6,366 individuals. The study found that, of the people with the lowest cognitive ability, only 40 per cent voted Remain, whereas 73 per cent of those with the highest cognitive ability voted Remain.

The researchers emphasised that it is important to understand that findings are based on average differences between large groups of voters.

“It is important to understand that our findings are based on average differences: there exists a huge amount of overlap between the distributions of Remain and Leave cognitive abilities.

“Indeed, we calculated that approximately 36 per cent of Leave voters had higher cognitive ability than the average (mean) Remain voter,” he said.

For anyone wondering why academics are continuing to rake over the ashes of Brexit, co-author Dr Paul Baker, from the University of Bath School of Management, explained: “Low cognitive ability can lead to decision errors and many Leave voters are now saying they regret their choice.

“The study highlights how the rise in misinformation and disinformation, and people’s inability to counter this information, is undermining the democratic process and can be used to influence democratic outcomes.”

Pictured: An anti-Brexit People’s Vote march in London in October 2019 published under Creative Commons licence