I don’t know of any research on this question, because most people tacitly assume that high intelligence is a positive trait. The research does show that high intelligence is positively correlated with a large number of desirable outcomes including better health management, greater socioeconomic status, more career choices and greater longevity. That is why many parents brag about the IQs of their offspring and attempt to enrol them in gifted programs. Others join high IQ societies like Mensa and tell everyone about the requirement for membership. For many people, a high IQ is a status symbol.
In academe, especially the STEM subjects, high intelligence is treasured, and those who make intellectual breakthroughs are elevated to the highest rungs on the status ladder. Similarly, in the world of high finance, where “quants” are recruited from the top university graduates, intelligence is seen as an invaluable asset.
However, among a significant portion of the population, intelligence is valued less than wealth and power. While many in this group believe that intelligence is an asset, they view the highly intelligent as unworldly and sometimes denigrate the highly intelligent people as “eggheads,”–to which the egghead might respond, “Surely you’re yoking.”
The group that would most likely regard high intelligence as a negative trait would be bright young children who feel ostracized by their peer group because of their difference. Gifted young children and adolescents often disguise their high intelligence so that they will be socially more acceptable. High intelligence is a gift, but only if it is harnessed to serve its possessor. On those occasions when it is mismanaged it can be a negative trait. For a perspective on the dangers of high intelligence, visit: Are the highly intelligent sometimes naïve about life in general? – Intelligence and IQ
