A team of psychologists conducted two studies for the research using data collected from a national review of more than 15,000 people aged between 18 and 28. The first study looked at the links between participants’ scores on an intelligence quiz, where they lived and how content they feel with their lives. The second study evaluated IQ scores compared to life satisfaction and how often participants’ socialised with friends.
Although the results found that most people are happier when they regularly socialise with friends, it also found that those with higher IQ scores feel less satisfied with their lives the more time they spend with friends.
As the study actively worked to incorporate evolutionary perspectives into their study of subjective wellbeing, the researchers theorise that because humans were originally hunter-gatherers that lived in packs for survival, we feel unhappy when isolated as it goes against the grain of our nature. However, people who are more intelligent often don’t follow the norms and as a result are more adaptable to whatever environment they find themselves in.
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