Does intelligence cause attraction? Only if you do not pass this level of CI
Normally it is said that any excess is harmful, but ... Does this principle apply to the level of intelligence of people?
In most aspects of life, it has been proven that the answer to the previous question is "no". Intelligence is the ability to adapt to new problems using the means available at any given time, and this is advantageous in practically any situation.
Thus, although there are certain myths about people with very high intelligence, the truth is that they are more likely to find a well-paying job and to stay healthy and live longer. In general, they do not have significant difficulties in connecting with others, nor are they unhappy.
Now, there is a field of life in which being very intelligent does not seem to bring significant advantages: the possibility of awakening sexual attraction in others .
- Maybe you're interested: "The theories of human intelligence"
Testing the concept of sapiosexuality
In recent years, the concept of sapiosexuality has become very popular, associated with people who are often called sapiosexuals. In short, sapiosexuals are individuals who, When assessing someone's attractiveness, they take into account their level of intelligence , to the point where it is the personal trait they attach more importance to.
All this, however, does not cease to occur in theory, since until very recently this topic had not yet been studied. However, a recent study carried out by researchers at the University of Western, Australia, has been proposed to check whether sapiosexuality is really a psychological concept that explains something real, or if it is just a label that some people use to look more like interesting
The results have shown that this phenomenon does have a certain empirical foundation, but only to a certain extent. In regard to the attraction generated by high intelligence , there comes a point where the latter almost does not matter. That is to say, that a high IQ usually goes hand in hand with greater attraction, but not if it is so high that the genius and the intellectual giftedness are touched.
- Maybe you're interested: "Sapiosexual: feel attraction for intelligence"
If you're not a very high IQ genius, intelligence attracts
In this research, we have worked with the CI data of different people as well as with those that refer to the sexual attractiveness that is given to them, and the interest of having a long-term relationship with these people. The results show, on the one hand, that intelligence has a greater effect on the interest in having a relationship than on sexual attractiveness. In addition, among the 13 personal traits to be assessed, intelligence was the second most valued when judging the attractiveness of people, just behind "friendly and understanding".
However, the results showed something strange. Intelligence makes the attractiveness of people rise significantly, but only until reaching an IQ of 120 (an intelligence score that only equals or exceeds one person in 10). When this level of IQ is passed by, the importance of intelligence in attractiveness plummets . That is, the mental ability of people when solving problems through the intellect is not something that appeals to extremely intelligent people. Why?
- Related article: "The 6 theories of interpersonal attraction"
An equal relationship
It is clear that intelligence has many advantages, and that normally those advantages are taken advantage of both by those who are intelligent and by those people with whom those who have a high IQ have a positive treatment. However, it is also true that in relationships, whether fleeting or stable, symmetry is important.
Perhaps because of this, intelligence can become something that distances people who are very different in this aspect. The results of this study show that sapiosexuality can have an empirical basis , but that this has its limits, and on the other hand the conclusions reinforce the idea that the excess of attractive features or highly valued in most situations, can have a negative effect.
And it is that the intelligence expresses itself in many ways in the day to day: in the type of conversations, in the hobbies, in the type of humor, etc. All these elements are a way to create harmony between two people, but if it does not appear and it is difficult to connect, frustration appears.
It may be that normally the most intelligent people do not have problems when it comes to socializing simply because they are, but that does not mean that they connect with everyone ; it can mean, also, that they have more resources to find those people with whom they fit better and who provide more interesting mental stimuli.
Bibliographic references:
- Gignac, G.E., Darbyshire, J., Ooi, Michelle (2017). Some people are attracted sexually to intelligence: A psychometric evaluation of sapiosexuality. Intelligence, //doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2017.11.009
