Most mothers would rather have a sociable child than a brilliant one

SOME mothers may wish their children were mini-Einsteins. But it seems far more of them would prefer their offspring to be the life and soul of the sleepover.

A survey has found intelligence ranked low on a list of characteristics that British mothers would most like to see in their son or daughter. Sociability, in contrast, is highly prized.

According to the poll of 142 mothers, just 10 per cent rated intelligence as the most important personality trait.

Meanwhile, 51 per cent put extrover- sion, the trait that describes people who are sociable, first. Lead researcher Dr Sophie von Stumm, of Goldsmiths, University of London, said: ‘Given that higher levels of intelligence and conscientiousness are linked to positive life.

‘It’s surprising that only one in ten mothers valued them as the most important characteristics for their child. While extroversion can have many benefits it is also associated with negative behaviours in adulthood, such as higher alcohol consumption and illegal drug use.’

In the study, published in the journal Personality And Individual Differences, mothers were asked to pick from intelli- gence and the ‘big five’ personality traits – extroversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism and openness to new experiences.

Just 9 per cent preferred conscientiousness, while 20 per cent picked agreeableness. One in ten chose openness, while none chose neuroticism.