Do smart men make good boyfriends? Only if he can solve puzzles, study finds

Is your boyfriend not 'good' enough? Well, don't blame him; blame his intelligence instead. A study by Oakland University across 202 heterosexual men who had been in a romantic relationship for at least six months found that intelligent men may be better boyfriends due to their problem-solving and pattern-spotting abilities. Well, researchers Gavin Vance, Tara DeLecce, and Todd K. Shackelford noticed a direct link between intelligence and abusive or controlling behavior in relationships; they found that intelligent men are more likely to show less harmful, coercive, or manipulative behavior toward their partners.

Researchers surveyed heterosexual men (ages 18-65) to analyze their ability to reason, solve problems, and comprehend complex ideas. Participants were given a series of letters and numbers and asked to identify the next position in each sequence. In the end, they found that men who scored higher often led healthier romantic lives and were more likely to stay committed to their partners. In fact, they were less insecure or jealous in relationships. "Fluid intelligence was positively associated with emotion perception, emotion understanding, and emotion management.

The present study suggests that lower general intelligence, and possibly lower fluid intelligence, is associated with undesirable outcomes for romantic relationships," researchers mentioned. Since the study was exploratory, researchers said they can't guarantee that intelligence is the reason men handle relationship problems better, but there is definitely a connection between the two. "Given the potential importance of general intelligence and specific cognitive abilities in navigating relationship problems, future investigations should continue this line of research," researchers added. They also warned that the result may not apply to women, since only men were included in the study.

In general, women prefer intelligence over anything else. A study by Peter K. Jonason and Andrew G. Thomas analyzed data from over 1.8 million people using online dating sites across 24 countries and found that a man's attractiveness increased by almost 2.5 times with his income and education. Similarly, a survey of 936 U.S. singles by Intelligent.com revealed that men are more likely to be rejected by women because of their education, income, or job. As far as education is concerned, more than half (63%) of the women respondents said it is very important for them when choosing partners. In fact, women are 3x more likely than men (21% vs. 8%) to not date someone less educated than them. The same survey found women are nearly 4x more likely to say they don’t want to date a partner with a lesser income than them (25% vs. 7%).

Meanwhile, reacting to the study by Oakland University, which was reshared on Reddit, u/yakyetiyakyetiyak commented, "I wouldn't even argue that it's baseline intelligence that has an impact on this, but rather social awareness and aptitude. It boils down to being aware and understanding: 'How do my actions affect this person, and could I do this differently?'" u/sartres_roommate joked, "My father is a literal genius (actual, not 'internet genius'), and I have always wondered how he kept my mom (a far more empathetic person)… Now I know."

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