If you were obsessed with Vicky-Katrina wedding, Ranbir-Alia’s wildlife safari in Kenya, or Anushka-Virat’s airport look, you might have lower cognitive skills. We are not calling you out, it’s the Hungarian academics.

A study by Hungarian academics published in BMC Psychology claimed that “there is a direct association between celebrity worship and poorer performance on cognitive tests”. 

Indian Express

The study included 1,763 Hungarian adults whose fluid intelligence was assessed through a 30-word vocabulary and digit symbol substitution test. They also measured celebrity obsession through a questionnaire known as Celebrity Attitude Scale. 

The list of “yes” or “no” questions included statements like “I often feel compelled to learn the personal habits of my favorite celebrity”, “I am obsessed by details of my favorite celebrity’s life”, and “If I were lucky enough to meet my favorite celebrity, and he/she asked me to do something illegal as a favor I would probably do it.”

Additionally, researchers also gathered data on participants’ self-esteem, family income, material wealth, and level of education. 

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“Even after controlling for demographic and socioeconomic variables, the researchers found that high scores on the Celebrity Attitude Scale were associated with lower performance on the two cognitive ability tests,” PsyPost reported. 

“Our results also support previous findings showing that excessive behaviors such as celebrity worshiping can possibly impair cognitive functioning, presumably due to the increased focus and energy invested in this behavior that becomes dominant in the individual’s life,” the authors of the study said. 

It is still uncertain whether celebrity worship is the cause or result of lower cognitive skills. The chances are people with higher cognitive skills understand the marketing strategies behind famous celebrities and thus are less likely to be obsessed with them. 

DNA

‘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 one’s favourite celebrity, keeping in mind that most celebrities are human beings who have some flaws just like average persons have,’ they said.

While some might feel offended by this study, netizens weren’t surprised. This is what Twitterati had to say about it –