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Smart Guys Less Likely To Cheat, Say Fancy Scientists
By Brian FairbanksMarch 2nd, 2010, 4:54 pmComments (31)
The London School of Economics and Social Psychology Today have some good news for women who prefer men who can carry on a conversation: smart guys don't cheat as much as dumb people do because, well, they're better than that.
The higher a man's I.Q., the more likely he is to practice sexual exclusivity.
Using a pair of massive general surveys of the American population... British researchers were able to ascertain that high I.Q. is positively correlated with monogamy.
...London School of Economics professor Satoshi Kanazawa... headed the study... [he] speculates that it is easier for intelligent men to overcome their primal urges and honor their sexual vows and commitments. There is no evidence that smarter women are any more faithful. [Asylum]
Ouch. Time for you post-Cro Mag-era ladies to evolve. If we keep smartassed dudes keep it in our pants for you, won't you do the same for us?
Via the Telegraph.
Commentarium (31 Comments)
Again, looks like I'm smart. Also, in my experience, this is VERY true.
Yet smart guys still less likely to pick up girls. The paradox continues
Monogamy is a protocol established by men for other men. It means, if I keep one woman to fuck, and if every man do the same, then every man will got a woman to fuck. Smart man understand that protocol better than dumb men. Now, for women, this protocol means nothing because it's very easy for a woman to get sex. Women prefer monogamy only to establish a secure environment for their children. But then again, experience will show them that they will have to do most of the job for taking care of the children. This is why smart women understand faster than dumb women that monogamy is bullshit that profits only to men.
"There is no evidence that smarter women are any more faithful." - There is also no evidence that 90% of the female population remains faithful in committed relationships. What's this so called scientists' point?
Really, Maud? I'll never understand people who look for the architecture of a systemic conspiracy in everything.
Try Occam's Razor -- isn't the most likely reason that many woman are monogamous that they prefer to be?
Why don't we assume that smart men are just more likely to lie on a survey?
Systemic conspiracy? Euh, no! But that human is an animal that imitate his peers.. yes! Occam's Razor tells me that if women are punished or judged more severely when they are unfaithful, then their faithfulness is not a free choice.
And yes, survey are biased.
And evolutionary psychology is not a science.
Maud, women are rewarded for monogamy by not being spinsters when they are old. Singledom sucks much more for old women than old men, because old women are ugly and old men still have power and presence.
when they are old, women are busy helped their children with their own children. And if they want good sex, they can masturbate (or fuck if they have someone) and have an orgasm without a blue pill. Then again, monogamy is a not useful.
helped = helping
Thank you, Jenny. That's exactly what I thought. My ex was off the charts smart and couldn't be monogamous if his life depended on it.
LOL @ Jenny.
Maud, I'm a woman, I prefer monogamy. I have no children and no desire to ever have children. And for the record, I've tried it both ways. I used to want men only for sex, had LOTS of sex without wanting any relationship. Now I prefer monogamy despite the fact that I'm absolutely repulsed by children.
I love it when people take a single example -- usually their own -- and extrapolate that into a general theory. LOL It's called SCIENCE, people! Learn something rather than just feeling it. Fucking republicans.
Also keep in mind, the study does not conclude that smarter women are *less* likely to be monogamous, only that intelligence does not correlate to that choice -- in either direction -- with women.
you people, go do some scientific reading on pubmed or any other articles browser, or more easily, google "human monogamy" and let's talk about it later.
Perhaps smart men know how to lie on surveys - or perhaps they're just better at risk assessment. When you actually know the probability of being caught (and can accurately imagine the consequences), it makes cheating much less attractive.
so if smart men are monogamous, then they are less likely to spread their gene pool? does this mean that smart men are allowing society to become more stupid?
@cs maybe it means that women who encourage smart men to be sexually exclusive are a threat to the future of intelligent man.
Hey, Michael--times have changed. Women aren't attracted to old, ugly men with "power and presence" since they discovered their wage-earning abilities. And you're dreaming if you think men age better than women....
someone should do a study about the negative correlation between a man's IQ and his desire to wear Affliction/Ed Hardy t-shirts.
hey alex, no study needed..lol! Affliction/Ed Hardy T-shirt wearers=low IQ cheaters. Smarty pants guys that are loyal are too busy using their brain for important tasks other than fashion sense. Remember that one ladies when we start judging by looks. Also, too much attention to their body, car or eyebrows on men is a "red flag"- cheater for me! ;)
@Maud
"Women prefer monogamy only to establish a secure environment for their children. But then again, experience will show them that they will have to do most of the job for taking care of the children. This is why smart women understand faster than dumb women that monogamy is bullshit that profits only to men."
Isn't this contradictory?
A secure environment for children is in fact a major benefit. How is that "bullshit that profits only to men"?
@cs
Just because smart men are less likely cheat (and have children via extramarital relations) doesn't necessarily reduce their evolutionary fitness. The disadvantage of having fewer children is likely offset by the increased paternal investment they can give to each child, i.e. more attention, better schools, better social connections, etc. That investment pays dividends by increasing the likelihood that their children will have fit grandchildren, and so on and so forth.
The paradox lies in that when a woman choose a man to rise a family or just marry (and by marrying I mean being in a monogamous couple), he will take care of her by protecting her from other men.
And as a feminist and as a daughter of a single mom, I have to answer you that when a woman establish a family with a man, she can be in one of those cases:
1- with the guy helping her raising the kids
2- without the guy and without the kids
2- alone with the kids
3- with the guy taking care of himself and the kids that she has to take care of
4- with the guy taking care of himself and wanting that she takes care of him while she also take care of the kids
5- physically or verbally abused
6- killed with kids
The smart guys know that you never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever admit that you cheat.
Lying would be accounted for in the survey and a proper poll would be anonymous to minimize the lying plus they would be instructed to be truthful to avoid ruining the survey and wasting everyone's effort. Of course there'd be a few liars but I don't believe they would invalidate the results if the poll population was statistically large. I offer that higher intelligent people have more activities and hobbies that occupy their time than placing themselves in situations where chances of promiscuity is higher. Also, the more successful person is usually busier with work. Lesser intelligent men usually have more time on their hands and also go to places where promiscuity is more prevalent. Also, when men band together, they are embolden to be more sexually active to prove their masculinity to the others.
I personally don't trust polls unless I've seen the actual poll and the data that it generated. That being said, I'm an intelligent man and I've cheated on every single woman I've ever dated or called my girlfriend. Monogamy just doesn't work for me. Either that or I haven't met a woman who makes me want to remain faithful.
tjm, Polls are only as good as those who create them. Since this poll was created by a reputable college and likewise by a reputable publisher, we can safely assume this poll has some creditability. Since you've identified yourself as an "intelligent" man, you must admit that not every man is the same as you. You confess having fidelity issues with women. I humbly consider myself as an intelligent man and have been faithful to a fault to one woman. This article only covers the results of a limited poll and therefore should be treated as such. Problems of specific types of men would require an additional study. Good luck in finding your woman.
I think many of you aren't really understanding this article. The researchers took the large general surveys (the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and the General Social Survey) of the American population and were able to deduce that high I.Q. is positively correlated with monogamy. It's just an indication. Of course, there are exceptions. Makes me wonder if the definition of "high I.Q." escapes some of you here.
Of course smart guys do not cheat. They are preoccupied with more important activities, such as having a carrier. And high IQ also correlates with high self -esteem. Why would you want to share your precious body with many people? You might also catch some disease :(
Women are more emotional and more easily set off by little things. Hence their ability to commit is much less. During down times I think they are definitely more likely to cheat.
As for smart men cheating less...I dunno if all the reasons were correct. But I think smarter men tend to be nerdier and can't get women as easily, so the ones they do get they hold on to.
Now you say something