First, we wanted to determine how different groups of people value intellectual parity between partners in a relationship. We asked different demographics about what attitudes they have toward dating their intellectual equal. Nearly 70% of respondents say that it’s important or very important to be intellectually challenged by a romantic partner, whereas less than 10% say that it is unimportant. Millennials value intellectual challenge in a partner more than any other generation. Participants who live in a suburban setting (72%) value intellectual challenges more than respondents in urban or rural areas.
Additionally, we asked respondents about what level of degree attainment they seek in a partner. Generally, most respondents require that their romantic partner hold the same level of degree as they do – they want their partner to be their intellectual equivalent. For example, the largest portion of respondents with a master's degree (48%) want to date someone who also has a master's degree, and the largest portion of respondents with a bachelor’s degree (55%) want to date someone who also has a bachelor’s degree.
In contrast, while respondents would prefer to date their intellectual equal in an ideal world, when asked if they would date someone who did not have a college degree, a majority 82% of overall respondents say “yes.”
Seventy-five percent of respondents say they would prefer to date someone who is their intellectual superior. However, when we zoom in on individual demographics, the results shift.
The youngest generation, Gen Z, is the generation most open to dating someone who is their intellectual inferior (36%). On the other hand, baby boomers are the generation most predisposed to dating someone who has the upper hand in intelligent conversations (82%). This insight suggests that younger generations entering the dating world may completely change how intellectual chemistry is understood!
This generational difference made us wonder how age and gender may impact different criteria that individuals seek in a partner.
