According to an MSNBC report, watching dumb television shows, like MTV’s Jersey Shore, might actually be making Americans dumb – well, dumb-er.

In a study conducted by Austria’s University of Linz, 81 subjects were given either a short narrative to read about a foolish soccer hooligan and his day of drunken misadventures or a version of the same story with a slightly more boring plot line – sans any alcohol-induced exploits.  After reading, the subjects were then asked to answer a series of multiple choice questions and the results were, to be honest, not that shocking.

Participants who read a narrative about a stupidly acting soccer hooligan performed worse in the knowledge test than participants who read a narrative about a character with no reference to his intellectual abilities.

So, basically, if your brain is full of Snooki, The Situation and their antics – you just may be doomed to repeat their actions.

[Image: Mario&Luigi/WENN]