The Price of Idolatry: A Study Reveals a Troubling Connection Between Celebrity Worship and… Cognitive Test Scores

A study conducted with over a thousand people highlights an association between high levels of obsession with celebrities’ lives and lower scores on cognitive tests. However, it remains complicated to determine if this fascination with cultural icons is a cause or a consequence of these reduced skills.

Nearly twenty years of research have produced mixed results on the relationship between celebrity worship and cognitive skills. According to some studies, cognitive performance tends to decrease with higher levels of celebrity worship. On the other hand, other studies have found no association between these constructs.

In the context of research published in the journal BMC Psychology, a team sought to expand on previous work on this association. To do this, they applied Cattell’s two-factor theory of intelligence to a sample of Hungarian adults.

Clear Association: For this study, researchers recruited 1,763 people (about two-thirds men, one-third women) for an online survey. All participants completed two intelligence subtests designed to measure vocabulary skills (vocabulary test) and numerical symbol skills (short number-symbol test). Participants also answered questions to assess their self-esteem using Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale and their attitude towards celebrities using the Celebrity Attitude Scale to define their level of obsession with celebrities.

The researchers identified three levels of obsession. The “social entertainment” level involved those whose interest in stars was limited to discussing their lives with friends. The second level, “intense-personal,” involved compulsive reflection on celebrities, while the third level, “pathological limit,” involved individuals willing to do anything as long as their favorite celebrities asked.

Finally, data on subjective material wealth, current family income, and general sociodemographic data were also reported.

After analyzing the results, there seems to be a direct association between celebrity worship and poorer performance on cognitive tests that cannot be explained by demographic and socio-economic factors.

However, it is still difficult to explain it precisely. The authors speculate that celebrity obsession could hinder cognitive abilities due to the intense level of concentration and attention required to maintain this “unilateral emotional bond.” Individuals with higher levels of intelligence may also be less likely to idolize celebrities due to a greater ability to recognize the marketing strategies that glorify these characters.