Exceptional intelligence and easygoingness may hurt your prospects: Threshold effects for rated mate characteristics

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Psychology
• Mate Selection

Background:

• Mate preferences consistently rank kindness, intelligence, easygoingness, and physical attraction highly.
• Previous research indicated desirability ratings for IQ peak at the 90th percentile, decreasing significantly thereafter.

Purpose of the Study:

• To replicate the non-linear desirability effect for IQ in prospective partners.
• To evaluate desirability effects for easygoingness, kindness, and physical attraction using a percentile scale.

Main Methods:

• A sample of 214 young adults rated the desirability of various mate characteristics.
• Utilized a percentile scale measurement approach to assess desirability levels.
• Compared desirability ratings across different percentile levels (e.g., 90th to 99th).

Main Results:

• All four characteristics (IQ, easygoingness, kindness, physical attraction) peaked in desirability at the 90th percentile.
• Significant reductions in desirability were observed for IQ and easygoingness from the 90th to 99th percentiles.
• Desirability for kindness and physical attraction did not significantly decrease at the highest levels.

Conclusions:

• Findings support a threshold hypothesis: the benefits of valued mate traits may plateau or diminish beyond a certain point.
• Elevated levels of intelligence and easygoingness may become less attractive due to potential biological or psychosocial factors.
• Participant's own intelligence did not correlate with their desirability ratings for partner's IQ.