Thinking around the corner
These character traits make intelligent people
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What personality traits indicate an intelligent person? Research has identified three.
What makes an intelligent person? At school, we are taught that diligence and ambition are qualities that make intelligent people – because only those who study conscientiously, get good grades, graduate successfully, get off to a good start in their careers and lead a contented, fulfilling life. Or?
It doesn’t need a scientific treatise to see that this equation doesn’t quite work out in the real world. But are there certain personality traits that indicate intelligence? Are some people smarter than others because of their character? Science has already dealt with it in various studies – with exciting results.
The problem with intelligence
The first problem with the goal of connecting intelligence and personality traits is that intelligence is difficult to define. “Intelligence is a socially constructed construct that varies from culture to culture,” Das summarizes Textbook Psychology the problem together. So it means: What constitutes intelligence – and what not – is not a “natural” fact like the path of the sun, but something created by humans. The definition of intelligence can be very different in Europe than in China.
Another Problem: Intelligence is something abstract, we cannot see it, we cannot measure it. There is not even a consensus as to whether intelligence is an overall skill or a set of individual skills. According to the Psychology textbook, most psychologists have been able to agree on at least one definition: “the ability to learn from experience, problem-solve, and adapt to new situations.” And this definition in turn gives conclusions about certain personality traits.
Personality traits that indicate high intelligence
The available studies can establish at least a partly strong connection between the intelligence of a person and certain character traits – according to research, three characteristics in particular have emerged that indicate an intelligent person: openness, curiosity and conscientiousness.
1. Openness
One studywhich tried to establish a connection between personality traits and the intelligence of the test subjects, came to the conclusion that the characteristic of openness showed the greatest connection with intelligence on average.
Openness means that a person is not stuck in their own thoughts and actions, but is interested in new things outside of their own horizon of experience. For example, someone who is open to new hobbies, constantly tries out new things, broadens their own horizons and develops their skills. Rarely will you hear intelligent people say, “No, I really don’t want to try that,” but rather, “I’ve never done this before. I can’t wait to try it!”
2. Curiosity
In a study presented on PsyBlog, the connection between curiosity and intelligence turned out to be particularly strong. In particular, pronounced curiosity in childhood would have a positive effect on intelligence, the authors of the study explain: “Intelligence may influence personality development in that intelligent people develop habits to satisfy their curiosity and ‘cognitive hunger’.”
The scientists continue to write that curiosity and openness go hand in hand here. Which is only logical: If you are curious about the world, you are equally open to everything that happens around you, you want to understand connections and learn.
3. Conscientiousness
In another study, people who were perceived by others as competent, dutiful, and self-disciplined had higher intelligence quotients (IQ). The scientists summarized the characteristics mentioned under the term “conscientiousness”.
It was found that conscientiousness and cognitive abilities have a positive interaction for different areas of life, for example for the school career, professional performance, but also health-related behavior. Anyone who acts conscientiously takes their duties at school and at work seriously, has a (probably high) demand for their own performance or perceives their own body and its needs – and seriously.
Sources used: lehrbuch-psychologie.springer.com, spring.org.uk