Everyone is intelligent in their own way. And, of course, we all find ourselves to be intelligent because it is difficult to tell how smart we really are without being subjective to the matter. After all, we all sound smart in our own heads.
And we can all agree that intelligence is a fundamental trait in all areas of a person’s life; be it in a career, romantic relationships, friends, family matters, financial security, and so on – a smart and bright mind can be your greatest strength.
On the other hand, people who lack intelligence are more prone to have certain habits that out them and can be fatal for them in certain situations.
5 Habits That Differentiate Stupid People From Smart People:
1. Only Stupid People Have To Be Right All The Time
When it comes to dealing with conflict, intelligent people are able to empathize with their opposing partner and look at the situation from their point of view. They listen to their partner’s arguments and are open to changing their own opinion if needed.
Contrary, stupid people can argue forever and will not change their opinion even if the other person has very valid arguments. Plus, stupid people cannot notice when the other person happens to be more competent and more intelligent than them.
In psychology, this is called the Dunning-Kruger effect.
It happens when less competent people overestimate themselves and their abilities while underestimating the skills and the intelligence of others. This term was coined by the psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger in 1999. They noticed in their research studies that ignorance leads to confidence more than knowledge does.
According to Dunning: “If you’re incompetent, you can’t know you’re incompetent.… [T]he skills you need to produce a right answer are exactly the skills you need to recognize what a right answer is.”
However, this does not mean that intelligent people assume that everyone else is right. Intelligent people analyze the arguments first and try to be objective before deciding what is right and what is wrong.
2. Stupid People Blame Others For Their Own Mistakes
A smart, professional, and genuine person would never cast blame on somebody else for their own mistakes. A truly intelligent person is one who is responsible and takes their mistakes seriously.
Stupid people, on the other hand, are not able to take the blame for their mistakes. They prefer others to pity them rather than admit they made a mistake. And they would cast the responsibility for their mistakes to others whenever possible.
“It’s never a good idea to cast blame. Be accountable. If you had any role — no matter how small — in whatever went wrong, own it. The moment you start pointing fingers is the moment people start seeing you as someone who lacks accountability for his or her actions,” said Travis Bradberry, the author of the bestseller “Emotional Intelligence 2.0.”
Moreover, a neurological study conducted by Jason S. Moser found that the brain of intelligent people responds differently when dealing with mistakes. In other words, smart people tend to accept and learn from their mistakes which is not the case of less intelligent people.
3. Stupid People Ignore The Feelings And Needs Of Others
Intelligent people are empaths at heart. They do not dismiss the feelings and opinions of other people. This quality makes smart people able to understand different points of view and look at a situation from different angles.
Russel James, a professor at Texas Tech University, analyzed over 1,000 Americans and found out that smarter people were more likely to give something without expecting anything in return as opposed to less intelligent people. It turns out that intelligent people, indeed have a stronger understanding of the needs and emotions of other people and are more inclined to help them.
Less intelligent people, on the contrary, cannot imagine that anyone could have a different opinion than them – and they dismiss it instantly. Plus, the concept of giving without expecting something in return is foreign to them.
Let’s be honest: Everyone is selfish from time to time. However, the important thing is that we try to find a balance between following our pursuits and remaining considerate to other people’s emotions and needs.
4. Stupid People Are Aggressive When Dealing With Conflict
It is human to get angry from time to time. Even the intelligent people are not immune to anger. But, they’ve learned how to control their emotions and accept them – even the negative ones. Even if they experience a negative emotion, they won’t let that emotion to get the best of them.
Less intelligent people, however, get angry and aggressive every time when things are not going their way. They use aggression and anger to secure themselves and their position every time when they feel like they are not in control over a situation or a person.
Researchers from Michigan’s University found that aggressive behavior is directly correlated with lower IQ.
“We hypothesized that low intelligence makes the learning of aggressive responses more likely at an early age, and this aggressive behavior makes continued intellectual development more difficult,” they wrote in their paper.
5. Stupid People Think They Are Better Than Anyone Else
Smart people are not afraid of competition. They try to help others and inspire them to be the best versions of themselves. Intelligent people have high levels of self-esteem, and they share their knowledge with others selflessly.
Stupid people, on the other hand, try to look better than others. They would even try to manipulate and badmouth other people for their selfish purposes. They are judgmental people, full of prejudices, and they think they are better than anyone else.
One Canadian study found that people with low IQ are more likely to be homophobic, racist, and prejudiced.
Moreover, many biologists share the idea that the ability for cooperation and mutual understanding is the most vital one for our human development. In fact, a sign of high intelligence is being able to be a good team player.
Mary Wright is a professional writer with more than 10 years of incessant practice. Her topics of interest gravitate around the fields of the human mind and the interpersonal relationships of people.If you have a general question or comment please fill out the form and we will get back to you as soon as possible https://curiousmindmagazine.com/contact-us/ .