The study found that people of below average intelligence were, overall, just about as wealthy as those in similar circumstances but with higher scores on an IQ test. It turns out that being very smart does not protect you from getting into financial difficulty.
The one financial indicator in which the study found it paid to be smart was income: those with higher IQ scores tended to get paid more than others. But making more does not necessarily translate into greater wealth or protection from money woes. "People don't become rich just because they are smart," said Jay Zagorsky, author of the study and a research scientist at Ohio State's Center for Human Resource Research. "Your IQ has really no relationship to your wealth. And being very smart does not protect you from getting into financial difficulty."
While other research has also found the IQ-income link, this is one of the first studies to go beyond income to look at the relationship between intelligence and wealth and financial difficulty. "Financial success for most people means more than just income," Zagorsky said. "You need to build up wealth to help buffer life's storms and to prepare for retirement. You also shouldn't have to worry about being close to or beyond your financial limits."
The study: This research was based on data from 7,403 Americans who participated in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, which is funded primarily by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The NLSY is a nationally representative survey of people, who are now in their mid-40s, conducted by Ohio State's Center for Human Resource Research. The same people have been interviewed repeatedly over time since 1979. This study is based on responses from the 2004 survey. Participants completed the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT), a general aptitude test used by the Department of Defense. Researchers have long used AFQT scores as a measure of intelligence. All participants were also surveyed about their income, total wealth, and three measures of financial difficulty:
- Do they currently have any maxed-out credit cards?
- Over the past five years have they had any instances where they missed paying bills?
- Have they ever declared bankruptcy?
- People with higher IQ scores tend to earn higher incomes. In this study, each point increase in the IQ score was associated with $202 to $616 more income per year.
- When it comes to total wealth and the likelihood of financial difficulties, people of below average and average intelligence did just fine when compared with the super-intelligent.
- There was no strong relationship between total wealth and intelligence.
The lesson is simple, he said. "Intelligence is not a factor for explaining wealth. Those with low intelligence should not believe they are handicapped, and those with high intelligence should not believe they have an advantage."
The study findings were published in the journal Intelligence, 2007.
--From the Editors at Netscape
