Study claims brain function linked to Brexit vote
Researchers at the University of Bath hope to better understand the impact of misinformation on how people vote
A new study by the University of Bath claims to have found a link between people's brain function and how they voted in the EU referendum.
The study by the university's School of Management - which looked at the memory, verbal fluency and numerical reasoning of more than 6000 people nationwide - found these correlated with how people vote.
Researchers hope their findings will highlight the need for a crackdown on fake news, and help them analyse how people's susceptibility to misinformation might affect how they vote in future.
'Low cognitive ability makes people more susceptible to misinformation and disinformation'
Lead author Dr Chris Dawson, from the University of Bath’s School of Management, said: “This study adds to existing academic evidence showing that low cognitive ability makes people more susceptible to misinformation and disinformation.
"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 people from 3,183 heterosexual couples collected as part of a large survey called Understanding Society.
They found that, of the people with the lowest cognitive ability, only 40% voted Remain, whereas 73% of those with the highest cognitive ability voted Remain.
Dr. Dawson added: “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.
“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% of Leave voters had higher cognitive ability than the average (mean) Remain voter,” he said.
The study looked at couples living in the same household to equalise people’s experiences, as well as controlling for demographic information like as political beliefs, education level, and income.
They found having a high cognitive ability partner - and the highest cognitive ability in the couple - both increased the chance of voting Remain.
Dr Paul Baker from the University of Bath School of Management, and co-author of the study, said: “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".
Cognitive ability and voting behaviour in the 2016 UK referendum on European Union membership is published in PLOS ONE by Dr Chris Dawson and Dr Paul Baker - which you can find here.