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COGNITION

Can Intelligence

Buy You

Happiness?

New research suggests that higher IQ leads to

greater well-being by enabling one to acquire

the financial and educational means necessary

to live a better life

I

n his classic 1923 essay, “Intelligence as the

Tests Test It,” Edwin Boring wrote “Intelligence is

what the tests test.” Almost a century of re-

search later, we know that this definition is far too

narrow. As long as a test is sufficiently cognitively

complex and taps into enough diverse content,

you can get a rough snapshot of a person’s gen-

eral cognitive ability—and general cognitive ability

predicts a wide range of important outcomes in

life, including academic achievement, occupation-

al performance, health and longevity.

But what about happiness? Prior studies have

been mixed about this, with some studies showing

no relationship between individual IQ and happiness,

and other studies showing that those in the lowest

IQ range report the lowest levels of happiness com-

pared to those in the highest IQ group. In one study,

however, the unhappiness of the lowest IQ range

was reduced by 50 percent once income and mental

health issues were taken into account. The authors

concluded that “interventions that target modifiable

variables such as income (e.g., through enhancing

education and employment opportunities) and neu-

rotic symptoms (e.g., through better detection of

mental health problems) may improve levels of hap-

piness in the lower IQ groups.”

One major limitation of these prior studies, how-

ever, is that they all rely on a single measure of hap-

piness, notably life satisfaction. Modern-day re-

searchers now have measures to assess a much

wider array of indicators of well-being, including au-

tonomy, personal growth, positive relationships, GETTY IMAGES

Scott Barry Kaufman is a psychologist, author and podcaster who is deeply interested in using

psychological science to help all kinds of minds live a creative, fulfilling and meaningful life. Kaufman

has over 60 scientific publications on intelligence, creativity, personality and well-being. In addition to

writing the column Beautiful Minds for Scientific American, he also hosts The Psychology Podcast. He

is also the author and editor of eight books. Kaufman received a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from

Yale University and an M. Phil. in experimental psychology from the University of Cambridge.

Opinion