The relationship between intelligence and attitudes in a bilingual society: The case of white south africa

The relationship between attitudes and intelligence in a sample of white South African teacher trainees was examined. The results indicate that Afrikaans speakers were significantly higher than English speakers on most factors of conservatism and religiosity. The attitudinal patterns of the more conservative Afrikaans speakers were different from the attitudinal patterns of the more liberal English speakers. No conclusions could be reached, however, regarding the connection between attitudes and intelligence. Language was found to mediate conservative attitudes, and these attitudes, and not language, were the critical variables interrelated with intelligence.