THE ESSENTIAL
- A score between 90 and 110 is the average for an IQ test.
- The Intelligence Quotient (or IQ) is a test which “measures” in a numerical way the intelligence of a person according to his age.
According to a new study published in BMC Psychology, cognitive performance is slightly reduced in people who are obsessed with celebrity or celebrities.
A vocabulary test and a numerical test
“Unlike the previous ones, this study controlled for several potentially relevant variables”, essay authors Lynn E. McCutcheon, Ágnes Zsila and Zsolt Demetrovics explain in a joint statement to PsyPost.
Thus, 1,763 Hungarian adults took a vocabulary test and a numerical test. The researchers also collected their level of self-esteem, income, material wealth, and level of education. The degree of their potential star worship was then measured using a scientific questionnaire known as the “Celebrity Attitude Scale”.
After correlating all of this data, the researchers found that high scores on the Celebrity Attitude Scale were associated with lower performance on both cognitive ability tests.
Decreased performance
“These data support previous results showing that excessive behaviors can impair cognitive functioning, presumably due to the concentration and energy invested in this attitude, which is gradually becoming dominant in an individual’s life,” analyze the researchers.
“High levels of admiration can be seen as a contributing factor to declining performance in tasks requiring cognitive effort, regardless of education or age”, they conclude.
