So you’ve gotten your points, finished the degree and you’ve listed obscure hobbies that sound impressive (nobody needs to know you can’t finish that Sudoku).
Apparently the real way to seal the deal on making people think you’re more intelligent could be as easy as including your middle initial.
A new study published by the European Journal of Social Psychology saw 85 participants reading the same scientific article with one tiny difference – the author’s name.
Researchers changed the author’s name from David Clark to four variables – David Clark, David F. Clark. David F.P. Clark, or David F.P.R. Clark.
Afterwards the students were asked how strong a writer they thought the author was, with the majority of readers nominating David F. Clark the smartest of all four (despite all holding the exact same content).
The researchers then conducted the same psychological test with CVs, and conclusively came up with the same scenario.
The smartest student wasn’t always the most popular candidate during testing though. In another segment of the study, students were given the option of joining a team whose members were listed either with or without any middle initials.
If the competition involved intellectual activities (like quizzes or literature), students were more likely to select the middle-initials team. This was a complete reversal for non-intellectual competitions, like joining an athletic team, where the first name without initials was usually first choice.
Researchers Wijnand A. P. van Tilburg and Eric R. Igou who analysed the results from the study argued that the misconception is largely due to the perception that middle initials are associated with prestigious contexts, such as correspondence from doctors and lawyers.
Excuse us while we update our LinkedIn profile…
