What is the primary quality a man looks for in a woman? Intelligence, of course, is one of the most cited by the male. But in practice is that what they want? Lora Park, Ariana Young, and Paul Eastwick of the University of Buffalo in New York are sure not to.
The team of psychologists have done a lot of research to prove what happens to men when they are with a woman who seems to be smarter than they are. In a first experiment, they asked that they evaluate a girl hypothetically better prepared and skilled in mathematics and English. They all qualified the girl as a desirable romantic pair in the long run. So far so good, that was the theory. But in practice? To respond, the researchers created several situations in which people competed between them. When a girl showed to be smarter than the boys, she was not so attractive in their eyes. And even the boys came to recognise that they felt insecure in front of an intelligent woman.
The result of the above study gave rise to the article Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder: Effects of Psychological Distance and Relative Intelligence on Men’s Attraction to Women published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
The reality is that many women have found intelligence to be a barrier to finding a partner and they end up convincing themselves that demonstrating more knowledge than their partner can affect their emotional lives. I have already heard from a colleague that is pretending to be ‘dumb’ is sometimes necessary not to scare the ‘crush’. But, pretending to be less smart probably is not the best way to solve a problem which is much more connected with man role in a patriarchal society than the level of intelligence of each other.
Women, be clever! Don’t go out with a guy who demeans your intelligence.
The Circular wants to know, if you, woman, have ever had any experience in which a man felt intimidated by your intelligence. Press the bottom and vote or leave your story in the comments.
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