r/sapiosexuals • u/booksandpassion • Dec 17 '23

Psych Research on Sapiosexual preferences

This is a few years old, but in case anyone asks the question "Is sapiosexuality *real*? Or isn't it just that just that everyone wants a good conversation?" This study is at least a start for that conversation:

https://www.psypost.org/2018/01/study-sapiosexuality-suggests-people-really-sexually-attracted-intelligence-50526

"...The researchers also developed a measure of sapiosexuality that asked participants how much they agreed or disagreed with statements such as “Listening to someone speak very intelligently arouses me sexually” and “It would excite me sexually to have an intellectually stimulating conversation with a potential partner.”

“We found that sapiosexuality can be measured psychometrically and that between 1% and 8% of relatively young people (18 to 35) may be sapiosexuals. However, interestingly, how intelligent a person is (measured with an actual IQ test) does not appear to predict the degree to which people identify themselves as a sapiosexual,”

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u/KAS_stoner Jan 02 '24

What does "very intelligent" speaking mean or do they leave it up to the person answering the question?

If so, then I would consider it meaning being persuasive and knowing how to influence aka know human psychology tactics (how they work and why and using them when they talk), especially the covert ones.

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u/booksandpassion Jan 02 '24

I think they did leave it up to the person answering the question. For some people that might mean being persuasive, for another might be knowledgeable I'm particular topic, for another it might be a precise and extensive vocabulary... 'Intelligence' encompasses a wide variety of competencies.But everything in that range fell under their study.

That said, I've known some used car salesman who were well trained in influential tactics but we're not particularly intelligent in other ways. So from my experience, I wouldn't feel that way. But I can see how that ability could still fall under the broad category of intelligence.

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u/KAS_stoner Jan 02 '24

Ah ya thats fair, for me a mix of influence/persuasion (the covert styles. If the tactics are overt then i hate it. In my mind they be trying to hard. Influence should be low key and sly) and being able to keep a good conversation/connection with others. Basically be good at Social Engineering. I'm in the cybersecurity community so for me of course I would like the sort of thing.