If you’re an educated person, you probably socialize less than your classmates, and you’re concerned about if this is normal, rational, and acceptable. Most of us are aware that clever individuals are more concerned than others and are more likely to have social anxiety since they are more perceptive than the average person. However, according to a study published in the British Journal of Psychology, this usually goes considerably further.

Extremely clever people prefer their own company, and there’s a fairly interesting reason behind this.To begin, evolutionary psychologists have shown a link between frequent social involvement and lower life satisfaction in people who are typically more intelligent. They studied participants aged 18 to 28 and discovered that people who lived in more densely populated areas reported lower levels of happiness, as did those who spent more time interacting with their friends.

The study claims that “savannah theory” lies at the basis of modern pleasure — or that the things that make us happy essentially are as true now as they were at the birth of civilization. The assumption is that brighter people are better equipped to adapt to modern life’s obstacles and are more willing to “leave the group” in order to pursue their own, more meaningful lives. Simply put, clever individuals prefer to socialize less because they do not require a sense of tribal membership to find purpose in their life.

In fact, when faced with the choice between “belonging” and carving their own path, individuals are more likely to pick the latter. According to this view, our hunter-gatherer brains were well adapted to life as it was back then, when the population was lower and we lived in groups of roughly 150 people apiece. Survival would have required social contact. An clever individual is distinguished by their capacity to adapt.

Previously, a superior person would have been best able to follow their instincts; today, a superior human is best able to construct their own future rather than simply adhering to the community. This is supported by the fact that self-reported happiness is generally higher in smaller towns than in larger cities, a phenomenon known as the “urban-rural happiness gradient.” This could be due to a variety of variables, the most likely of which is that people thrive in smaller groups and more intimate, genuine ties.

There is a sense of community and belonging in a tiny town. In a smaller city, you can stroll out to the deli in the morning and greet the same individuals, as opposed to feeling lost in the shuffle. Similarly, in a smaller community, the emphasis is on who you are and how you connect with others, rather than what you accomplish or who you appear to be. Intelligent individuals tend to ignore this in favor of their own interests, but the truth remains: smart people (and happy people!) flourish in a small number of deep, genuine relationships.