Being perceived as an unintelligent individual can lead to social rejection, and as with all things that pose the risk of social rejection, it will be avoided a

Being perceived as an unintelligent individual can lead to social rejection, and as with all things that pose the risk of social rejection, it will be avoided at all costs. When one feels that the group accepts them on their other merits, this reaction is defused. None of this seems particularly surprising - we humans have been avoiding social rejection for a very, very long time.