The so-called celebrity cult has a large following, but a new study suggests that those who obsess about the lives of the wealthy and famous do worse on cognitive tests. Researchers write in the journal BMC Psychology that while celebrity worship appears to be associated with lower intellectual abilities, it is unclear if this infatuation with cultural icons is a cause or a result of these diminished abilities. The researchers conducted an online poll with 1,763 Hungarian people, which included a battery of cognitive tests to examine two separate components of cognition.
The first was designed to assess “crystalized intellect” by measuring participants’ vocabulary, while the second was designed to assess “fluid intelligence” using a digit symbol exam. The participants to determine their level of celebrity preoccupation also completed the Celebrity Attitude Scale.
“Entertainment-social” fans are those that are only interested in celebrities for the sake of discussing their lives with their friends. The next phase, dubbed “intense-personal,” involves obsessive celebrity thinking. “Borderline-pathological” was the greatest level of preoccupation. People in this group were more likely to agree with comments like “if I met my favorite celebrity and he/she asked me to do anything illegal as a favor, I would probably do it.”
The researchers also examined each participant’s degree of financial prosperity and self-esteem. Higher degrees of celebrity infatuation are linked to lower scores for both crystallized and fluid intelligence, according to the researchers, and this tendency held true even when other demographic characteristics are taken into consideration.
However, linear regression models were unable to show that celebrity worship was the source of the decline in cognitive abilities, making it challenging to determine why this link occurs. The study’s authors speculate that celebrity fixation may impair cognitive abilities because of the strong amount of focus and attention necessary to sustain this “one-sided emotional attachment.” Sure, we are in the year 2017, and yes, there are those who believe the Earth is flat. Not just your typical “Mad Mike” characters, however. Oh no, a slew of celebrities has come out in support of the odd hypothesis in recent years.
