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Thirteenth Virtual Symposium: Apparently Being Smarter is NOT Sexy
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Thirteenth Virtual Symposium: Apparently Being Smarter is NOT Sexy This is my contribution for The Thirteenth Virtual Symposium: Sapiosexuality -- The Intersection Of Smarts  Men, you are an oxymoron! If you don't know what that means then look it up! Time and again men report that intelligence is one of the top qualities they seek in a woman. From a biological standpoint, it makes sense; smart women would be better able to pass along these smart genes to offspring. But recently, a team of researchers from the University of Buffalo, California Lutheran University, and the University of Texas discovered that, despite this biological advantage, if given the choice, most men would not date a woman who was smarter than them. For their research, published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, the psychologists conducted various studies on male undergraduate students. They asked 105 men to read a hypothetical scenario about women who had either scored higher or lower than them on a recent exam, and then rank their attractiveness. In addition to rating the women, the men were asked to fill out a survey to measure how much they personally related to various stereotypical male qualities. Results revealed in general, men “had favorable impressions and showed greater interest” in the women who had performed better than them, rather than those who performed worse. Eighty-six percent of these men also said that they would feel comfortable dating someone smarter than themselves, and none exhibited an effect on the way they evaluated their masculine qualities. For the second part of the study, researchers created scenarios in which the intelligent women were not abstract hypothetical examples, but rather present in the flesh. This time, 151 men were asked to take an intelligence test and were subsequently informed they would meet with the women who had performed better and worse than them. Just like before, the men were asked to gauge their initial impressions of the women and rate how attractive or desirable they found the women to be. Suddenly, the men’s opinion toward the more intelligent women had changed. Now, the majority of men rated the more intelligent women less attractive and showed less desire to exchange contact information or plan a date. The studies concluded that for some men, superior intelligence is simply an attractive trait in theory. When men actually meet women who are smarter than them, that attractive trait then becomes a turnoff. According to the researchers, the mere presence of a more intelligent woman was enough to make men feel threatened, and "feelings of diminished masculinity accounted for men’s decreased attraction toward women who outperformed them in the live interaction context." While these results do not necessarily mean that all men are threatened by more intelligent women, they do shed an interesting light on the dynamic between what we say we want and what we really want. It also suggests that a date’s body language, rather than how they converse, may be the best indicator of their level of interest. Guess I need to dumb down my profile now? What say you? Stop by and visit the other wonderful contributions to the symposium here: Participants In The Thirteenth Virtual Symposium Sapiosexuality Intersection Of Smarts And Sex Source: Park LE, Young AF, Eastwick PW. (Psychological) Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder Effects of Psychological Distance and Relative Intelligence on Men’s Attraction to Women. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 2015. |
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If I exclude women who are smarter than me, there will be no one left for me to date! Studies should be studied by a study group until they are all studied out! Don't believe in or trust most. Anything done half-heartedly will net you an equivalent result. ~CH
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smart is sexy sugar
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 Maybe you have to pretend in order not to scare them off  I would say though that the face to face interaction depends on much more than just IQ. Some people are better at interpersonal communications and are more comfortable with the face to face than others. It would be interesting to know if it was actually equal ground there. Maybe there is some compensation going on for the lower IQ people being better communicators of an emotional nature which is going to effect any interaction if you know what I mean. I know I've always found intelligence attractive but you still need to feel a connection with someone and sometimes intelligence can lead to a more distant feeling. Vive La Difference
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 , Some men really do get off on intelligent women, especialy if she shows herself to be a slut in bed heheThey like the inteligent conversations before and after, something they don't get from a 'bimbo' barby type, with those , they dress n go home 5 mins after they orgasm Wanton_Wench If you apprehiate this blog,please give a   or a
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Personally I would like someone who is about equal in intelligence to me. I have a very low tolerance for stupid. That said at least I’m an oxymoron instead of a full blown (pun semi intended) moron. Don’t dumb down My. When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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I agree with wanton_wench2.  Please Visit My Blog MAMACITA38DD
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This is an interesting proposal, yet I don't believe that intelligence is necessarily the turnoff, that there may be other factors at play. For example, if the woman was not only more intelligent, but let's say more assertive, for lack of a better word. It may not be her intelligence that is a turnoff, but how she presents it. Assertiveness can flow into arrogance and that may be one cause of the problem and not the intellect of the woman. There can also be the "I'm not worthy" factor, (which may be a personal bias on my part) where a man could believe that no woman that smart could possibly be interested in him. While I was in college I met many women who were smarter than I was and that didn't diminish their attractiveness in my eyes. More often than not, I was intrigued by them, unless they were, well, arrogant. I'm not saying the study is wrong. I just wonder what the authors may have missed.
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What an interesting way to test a hypothesis! Personally, I love people who are smarter than me. I shut up and listen and learn... and once I'm comfortable I up my game so I can joust with 'em. Doing so usually turns us both on... Stop in, read, and offer comments at my "swinging as seen in the media" blog, "Confessions of a Lifestyle Man" humorlife, which is also the home of the monthly virtual symposium. New post: The Virtual Symposium Returns Lets Pick A Topic
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Don't worry your pretty head about it sweetie!  
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Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind  
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I'd date a woman smarter than me. If I could find one. hahaha KIDDING! Smart as a horse and hung like Einstein.
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i find you quite sexy! sex is mostly in the brain! “Life is available only in the present moment.” Thich Nhat Hanh Come and read my blog! Become a watcher! veryfunnycple64 
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Just because you say that you prefer an intelligent woman doesn't necessarily mean that you want a woman more intelligent than you. It could mean as intelligent or almost as intelligent. When I say that I prefer intelligent women it means I want someone that can hold an intelligent conversation with me. One that doesn't believe every whacked out conspiracy theory or idea presented by some talking head. Someone who can form their own opinions etc. etc. etc. Despite the feminist movement it does seem as though women look for men who are above them and can take care of them rather than for men that they have to look out for. Was there a study exploring that? Please don't let me be misunderstood.
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I don't have a choice - all women are smarter than I am!
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Interesting read! Intelligence is always tricky to define and measure. I'm not sure that this study measured intelligence in a valid way. 
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Interesting study but it also shows that maybe the hypothetical scenarios in the minds of the men tend to be a bit of a fantasy that is always a bit of a letdown in real life. It's hard for a first impression on a blind date to live up to the anticipation beforehand (if you think like a guy). I do think more men are intimidated by women than are admitting it though. You'd think that a man who was comfortable enough with himself to admit he is intimidated, wouldn't be intimidated. Some men do admit though and I'm sure there are many times more men hiding it.
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The test may or may not be valid, but I don't think you'd ever dumb yourself down or otherwise try to pretend that you're something you're not. What you are is plenty good enough. Life's too short and too precious to try to live up-or down- to someone else's idea of intelligence. It may be surprising, but most of the rednecks I worked with seemed to be fairly honest about whether or not their partners were smarter than them. I think there was a time, not so long ago, that it would have been different. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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yes...some men are intimidated with smart woman...I have seen their relationship fail! The men feel they are not good enough and they sabotage their relationship! Bummer! I like intelligent woman, because I love intelligent conversations! “Life is available only in the present moment.” Thich Nhat Hanh Come and read my blog! Become a watcher! veryfunnycple64
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If the man avoids women he perceives as more intelligent because it makes him uncomfortable, then he is being smart to not pursue them. I wonder if that is a valid argument? Just postulating here...
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Being a writer and trying for the comedy of life, my profiles on various sites frequently get lots of responses and great interest. But the problem is when they meet me and say "ask me any question, I'm an open book" and then I do, they tell me they feel like they are being interviewed or worse, interrogated. When I explain that their profiles of just three sentences are not enough for me to know if we are a good match, and they DID offer to answer any question, they huff and puff and then slink away. The guy I'm currently dating had a profile like mine. We have had hours on the phone, thousands of texts, and it has been 6 months. I think he is a keeper. Kitkat The observant make the best lovers, I may not do right, but I do write, I have bliss, joy, and happiness in my life, Kitkat Come check out my blog KItkat1415 check out this post by me Adventures In Body Grooming #39 April Topic Link: What Lies Beneath If April Showers Oh Bloody Hell What Kind Of Weather Turns Me On Bloggers Symposium 40
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Real world evidence is that women generally are capitalsexual than sapiosexual. Eddie murphy is having his ninth child with a drop dead gorgeous current girlfriend some 20 years his junior. The guys with money, fame or power attracts large number of women. Intellect not so much. Christopher Langen is the smartest man in America with an IQ between 195 and 200. It is an estimate because the IQ test becomes imprecise at that high level. Langan has developed a "theory of the relationship between mind and reality" which he calls the "Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe" also some other original research. For a living he was shoveling horse manure at a stable and worked as a bouncer in a Long Island, New York club for over 20 years. In 1999 20/20 news program featured him as the smartest man in America may be in the world. He became internationally famous overnight. A he-man who rarely got a date till his mid forties were swarmed by "sapisexual" women vying for his attention. Now it didn't matter to them that the dude shovels manure for a living. He married Gina. A Ph.D in Neuroscience . His IQ didn't go up because he was on 20/20, but how he was perceived by women did. This is the picture of Chris and Dr. Gina Langan. "Rules for happiness: something to do, someone to love, something to hope for.”― Immanuel Kant .
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Skirt chasing? Never! I prefer women in pantsuits... but maybe I've said too much. Stop in, read, and offer comments at my "swinging as seen in the media" blog, "Confessions of a Lifestyle Man" humorlife, which is also the home of the monthly virtual symposium. New post: The Virtual Symposium Returns Lets Pick A Topic
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I do not relate at all to that study. For my taste there is no such thing as "too much intelligence." A woman who can outsmart me is endlessly fascinating. That is why I love to read and comment upon only the most excellent blogs. My featured post this week: Pulling Fantasy Sex Out of My Ass.
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Funny question... isn't the term "sapiosexual" rather nonsensical? Given the way it is used, shouldn't the term be sapiophile?
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