Do intelligent people have fewer friends?

Most of us can attest to the fact that there are a few universal factors that underpin happiness. Perhaps nice food, a fulfilling job, a good TV show and obviously spending time with a good group of friends … right? Well new research seems to suggest that this may not necessarily be the case for all of us!Researchers interviewed approximately 15,000 people of various IQ levels in relation to their subjective levels of happiness. They did this in two different conditions; one in which they were socialising with others and one in which they were alone. The results suggested that for people with low to average intelligence levels, socialising with friends resulted in increased self reported happiness; however the opposite was true of people with higher intelligence levels. People with high intelligence levels actually reported greater subjective happiness when alone. So why is this?Well there are a number of theories; one is engrained in the theory that similarities – rather than opposites – attract (see my blog if you’d like to know more about this). Sitting at the top end of the spectrum means that the vast majority of people that you come into contact with have very different thinking patterns, interests and potentially even values to yourself. Meaningful relationships can therefore become difficult to form leaving those higher intelligent folk feeling disconnected with those whom which they socialise with.Another theory is that more intelligent people are more aware of the darker side of human nature and therefore prefer not to engage in the supposed trivial pursuits of their ‘less intelligent’ counterparts. Or perhaps those with very high IQs have their own goals and ambitions in place and are far too busy chasing these to have the time to engage in social activities with others. These individuals tend to be more selective with whom they choose to spend their time with and often form relationships with people who they believe brings value to their life. Whatever the reason, it appears that this trend is linear in nature meaning the higher the IQ level the less happiness one has when around other people.This is not meant to suggest that you are unintelligent simply because you enjoy spending time with your friends. However it may mean that those intelligent people you see working away day in and day out may not be a miserable, antisocial entity, they may actually feel happier and more fulfilled this way!