People Who Dread Doing This One Thing Have Unusually High Intelligence, Says Science
Taylor | Unsplash Do you absolutely dread going to social functions like parties? Well, your introversion might just signal that you're smarter than the average person! Studies have shown that high IQ levels and introverted tendencies may be linked.
"Some of the world's top inventors are introverts ... Believed to be the most intelligent people in the world, they prefer to be alone to focus on their craft. Little to no social stimulation gets in the way of their thinking," explained David Hassell, CEO of 15Five, in an article written for Huffington Post.
Science says people who dread going to parties are likely to be highly intelligent.
A study published in the British Journal of Psychology suggests that intelligent people don't socialize as much and report higher levels of happiness. Being a homebody certainly sounds like it's got some perks!
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In 2018, researchers Satoshi Kanazawa and Norman Li introduced the savanna theory of happiness, which states that "the current consequences of a given situation" as well as "ancestral consequences" affect an individual's life satisfaction. To put it in simpler terms, the things that make us happy now are the same things that made ancient civilizations happy. Specifically, the "hunter-gatherer" lifestyle of our ancestors has also been passed down to affect our life satisfaction.
Confused? Let's break it down. The researchers looked at two factors: population density and frequency of socialization with friends.
People who live in cities aren't as happy as people in less populated areas.
Kanazawa and Li found that people who live in largely populated areas reported lower levels of happiness and satisfaction. They also found that frequent social interactions with friends are associated with greater self-reported happiness. However, they found that individuals with higher IQs reported less satisfaction with living in densely populated areas and with socializing with friends than individuals with lower IQs.
The results are also the opposite when examining smaller, rural areas. Individuals with higher IQ levels reported higher levels of satisfaction, compared to those with lower IQ levels.
What does this have to do with our hunter-gatherer ancestors? People of the ancient civilization were perfectly happy and satisfied with their lives, simply following their instincts. Socialization was a must to survive because they hunted and gathered in groups.
Smarter people know that they no longer have to rely on others for survival, so they are happier to indulge in alone time.
These days, we aren't required to simply follow our instincts. Instead, we are free to stop and think before befriending our neighbors because we don't exactly rely on them for our basic survival.
On top of that, being alone no longer has to mean being lonely. Basically, "intelligent people prefer to socialize less because they do not need that feeling of tribal belonging to find meaning in their lives."
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So, for the extroverts of the world, stop stressing about your introverted friends who just want to hang home and do a puzzle. They are smart enough to know what makes them happy, and science totally backs up their ability to make that decision.
As Carol Graham, who researches the economics of happiness for the Brookings Institution, told The Washington Post, "those with more intelligence and the capacity to use it… are less likely to spend so much time socializing because they are focused on some other longer-term objective.”
Caithlin Pena is an editor and former contributor for YourTango. Her work has been featured on Thought Catalog, Huffington Post, Yahoo, Psych Central, and BRIDES.
