Smart people like to be alone? It's no longer a myth. The reason, this can indeed be proven from psychological experiments. Many things can make a person happy. Going to the mall with family or friends? Happy. Traveling around Indonesia or the world with friends or family? Maximum happiness!
However, geniuses have their own definition of happiness, and friends are not a priority, sadly. At least, that's the result of a study published in the British Journal of Psychology in 2016 by two joint researchers from Singapore Management University (Norman P. Li) and The London School of Economics and Political Science (Satoshi Kanazawa).
- Geniuses are uncomfortable with friendships? The study, entitled "Country roads, take me home… to my friends: How intelligence, population density, and friendship affect modern happiness," examined 15,197 survey respondents aged 18 - 38 years, from demographics to IQ levels.
The data is part of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a program that examines the relationship between life satisfaction and intelligence and health.
Researchers found that crowds make a person unhappy, but hanging out with friends makes a person happy. Uniquely, the second principle does not apply to people who tend to have high intelligence.
When starting the study, the researchers said they were referring to the "savanna happiness theory". What's that?
The theory of savanna happiness refers to the notion that one's life satisfaction is based not only on what is happening in the present but also on how our ancestors might react in the present.
Evolutionary psychologists argue that the human brain was largely designed by and adapted to the environmental conditions of our ancestors who were predominantly hunters.
In other words, our bodies and brains have evolved into hunters and gatherers. However, this evolution is not fast and has not followed the progress of technology and human civilization.