Gavin Vance

Well, there's not, to my knowledge, a whole lot of research looking at intelligence in that specific context.

But based on the research that I am familiar with, it seems to typically relate to relationship sort of problem-solving ability or general ability to navigate relationship issues with sort of critical thinking, problem-solving skills.

I mean, specifically, the main one we wanted to answer was whether men with higher scores on a general intelligence test used fewer sort of negative relationship behaviors within their romantic relationships.

So use of sort of

partner-directed insults, so like verbal abuse, sexual coercion against their intimate partner, controlling sorts of behaviors, things like that.

Yeah, that is correct.

So not only, you know, a basic correlation, basic correlations between general intelligence and fewer of those sort of negative, nasty behaviors, but also a specific...

relationship with fluid intelligence or this sort of alphanumeric reasoning ability with fewer of those those same behaviors.

A little bit, yes.

So we included fewer of those variables in the study, but there was, you know, a positive correlation between intelligence and men's relationship, self-reported relationship commitment.

So how invested they said they were in their current partner.

Yeah, so fluid intelligence, as best as I understand it, is ability to sort of navigate novel or new problems or problems

things like that.

So the fluid intelligence, I guess, if you could call it that, subcomponent, the four questions out of the 16 that we used in the study to measure intelligence, is like alphanumeric, so like A is 1, B is 2, etc.

So you'd get a series of letters, and you'd have to determine the pattern if you had like A, C...

Yeah, exactly.

Like the number line thing where you have to figure out the relationship, but you replace it with letters to add like an extra level of like, you know, critical thinking, I guess.

And it was, you know, men who were better on those four questions specifically were

presumably higher in fluid intelligence.

So better at like sort of on their feet or on the fly thinking or reasoning.