Reading a road map upside-down, excelling at chess, and generating synonyms for "brilliant" may seem like three different skills. But each is thought to be a measurable indicator of general intelligence or "g," a construct that includes problem-solving ability, spatial manipulation, and language acquisition that is relatively stable across a person's lifetime.
The Roots of Human Intelligence
There may be. Research suggest that people who are high in the personality trait of openness tended to be more mentally flexible and verbally fluent and more likely to take creative, unconventional approaches to solving problems. Extraverted people were also more likely to score higher on test of verbal fluency because they tended to talk more, and be less concerned about mistakes. And people higher in the trait of conscientiousness tend to perform better on memory tasks because they’re generally better organized and willing to work harder.
No, not even close. This pervasive pop-culture myth—one survey found that 50 percent of science teachers believed it was true—has no basis in reality. We use 100 percent of our brains every day, as is clearly shown by functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Neurons only make up 10 percent of the cells in our brains but the other 90 percent work full-time, maintaining homeostasis, providing structural support, and removing pathogens. The source of the famous notion is pioneering psychologist William James, who once write that “we are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources,” and he was right—but our untapped potential has little to do with our brain cells.
No, a larger brain does not make a person more intelligent . Some studies have suggested, for example, that a larger brain may contribute as much as 6 percent boost to one’s intelligence, but this research has come into question, and some experts doubt that a larger brain would bring any advantages because it would necessarily demand greater energy consumption, potentially contributing a drag on a person’s resources. Considering all animals, including humans, there is a theory that the size of a creature’s brain relative the size of their body may confer a higher level of intelligence, though—and human brains constitute up a higher ratio of our body size than do the brains of many other animals.
The theory known as “the Flynn effect” maintains that average IQ scores have and will continue to rise over time, primarily due to changes in our environment—better diet and greater access to education and information, for example. But in recent years, IQ scores appear to declining —one-half to two points per decade—possibly a reflection of a decline in those same environmental factors.
Boosting Intelligence
A critical prerequisite for intellectual growth is the idea that one can gain mastery and improve on native ability. While one can indeed improve memory and problem-solving abilities over time via practice or environmental pressure, this does not mean that one is becoming "more" intelligent. IQ scores do not fluctuate markedly over the course of a person's lifetime, and they tend to consistently correlate with other tests, such as the SAT. Many supplements and computer programs are marketed as brain boosters, but there is little long-term evidence to support those claims.
One reason people attend, and stay in, school through high school, college, and beyond, is to become more intelligent. And while additional years of schooling should increase one’s store of general knowledge and career prospects, until recently research had not concluded that formal education also increased one’s IQ. But then a meta-analysis determined that each additional year of schooling appeared to raise IQ by one to five points. Exactly how schooling boosts IQ is not clear, though, nor is whether or how the effect accumulates over many years of education. But experts point to the study as a sign of a more crucial truth: that an individual’s intelligence can change over time.
The right ones seem to be able to. Successful players of games requiring strategy, creativity , and teamwork , research finds, tend to have a higher IQ than others. A similar connection between IQ and gaming success was not found in studies of first-person shooter-type games that rely on hand-eye coordination. But other studies find that playing certain games can actually help boost IQ. Studies that involved popular puzzle-based strategy games, particularly those involving complex, changing environments, led to gains in problem solving, spatial skills, and persistence. Significantly, such results were not found in studies of so-called “brain-training” games marketed as cognitive boosters.
A growing body of research supports the idea that exercise can help boost cognition, especially moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise. In one example, researchers found that, for older people, time spent in moderate-to-vigorous cardiovascular exercise was positively correlated with increases in “fluid” intelligence—processing speed, memory, and reasoning. In the same study, sedentary time was correlated with boosts in “crystallized” intelligence, such as vocabulary development. Light physical activity, however, provided little cognitive benefit.
Intelligence and Relationships
The vast majority of people claim that they find intelligence to be among the most desirable traits in a potential romantic partner. As with other favorable traits, though, this appeal most strongly influences initial interest in a new partner. Once people begin dating, other factors like personality and conflict style play important roles in determining whether a couple will stay together. But for a certain group, intelligence is their primary erotic turn-on . Some research suggests that these individuals, known as sapiosexuals , may represent a distinct sexual orientation . Interestingly, whether one finds intelligence to be a turn-on does not seem to be determined by one’s own level of intelligence. But for sapiosexuals, looks and even gender may not be as vital a factor in sexual attraction as intelligence.
Generally, yes. Studies of adolescents found that more intelligent individuals were more well-liked by peers than others—although other research finds that more intelligent people tend to like fewer people than others, and to prefer being with other intelligent people. In the dating pool, smarter people may be at an advantage because others’ preference for being with smart people is strongest at the beginning of relationships.
Generally, it’s an advantage, although some research suggests that the most intelligent people may be at a disadvantage . When people were asked to consider whether they would want to date people in different percentiles of intelligence, the favorability rankings increased steadily from the 50th percentile to the 90th, at which point interest declined. This research is consistent with other findings that even the most appealing traits tend not be desired in the extreme.
In surveys, men and women both claim that they are at least as attracted to intelligence as they are to good looks. In practice, especially for men, that is not always the case. The idea that highly intelligent women may be at a disadvantage in the dating pool , research suggests, is no myth: Men tend to shy away from women who are clearly more intelligent than they are. (Women are less likely to have the same reaction to intelligent men.) Experts suggest that intelligent women avoid dumbing themselves down to attract a partner or going out of their way to support a partner’s ego, as in the end those strategies are likely to lead to unfulfilling relationships.
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