People who are obsessed with celebrities are less intelligent, study says

Obsessed with Taylor Swift or can't help but keep up with the Kardashians? You're not alone, but a recent study suggests you might not be smart.

A study published in BMC Psychology last year claims that people who are 'celebrity-obsessed' are less intelligent.

Researchers asked 1,763 Hungarian adults to take part in a 30-word vocabulary test, as well as a digit symbol substitution test, before asking them to complete a questionnaire on their attitudes towards celebrities to determine their interest levels when it comes to celebs.

Such statements in the questionnaire included "I often feel compelled to learn the personal habits of my favourite celebrity," with participants able to pick a yes or no answer.

Those who are obsessed with celebrities like Taylor Swift (pictured above) are less intelligent, according to the study.Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

Other statements that were featured in the study included: "I am obsessed by details of my favourite celebrity's life," and "If I were lucky enough to meet my favourite celebrity, and he/she asked me to do something illegal as a favour I would probably do it."

The research concluded that by looking at both literacy and numeracy "there is a direct association between celebrity worship and poorer performance on cognitive tests."

However, take the results with a pinch of salt.

Researchers in the study admitted that it was difficult to determine why the celebrity fans performed poorly on the cognitive tests.

It could be because they struggle more in that area or they simply used more mental energy thinking about the A-listers.

Speaking to PsyPost, the researchers said: "Future studies should seek further support for our suggestion that the cognitive effort invested in maintaining the absorption in a favourite celebrity may interfere with the person's performance in tasks that require attention and other cognitive skills.

"Although our research does not prove that developing a powerful obsession with one's favourite celebrity causes one to score lower on cognitive tests, it suggests that it might be wise to carefully monitor feelings for [them]."

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