Is Intelligence Innate or Acquired?

In this essay I will try to find whether intelligence is either an innate quality or acquired. I will first define intelligence, then research ways of assessing intelligence before choosing how I will compare one subjects intelligence to that of another. Research will then focus individually on evidence of intelligence being innate and its genetic aspects. Studies will show how intelligence might be acquired dependent upon the environment in which subjects were brought up and specifically those that they were educated in (particularly level and standard of education). As my research continues, it should become apparent that there is no evidence strong enough to tip the balance in favour of either conclusion. However it will show that the case for each component of intelligence is intertwined with the other and the answer to the question cannot be found. How do you define intelligence? Origins of Intelligence Testing. In studying intelligence, finding the best way to measure it is often the hardest part of the experiment. The way in which you test for intelligence can also be seen to define it. The psychologist Alfred Binet (1857-1911) was the first to investigate a psychometric approach towards intelligence. He based his tests on two principles: That intelligence increases through childhood: therefore if a given item is a valid measure of ability, older children should find it easier than do younger children. And That the rise in intelligence across childhood was not due to developments in sensory acuity or precision, nor was it a direct results of special education or training. ( Introduction to Personality and Intelligence, Nick Haslam) By avoiding test items that required experience or that resembled schoolwork, and focusing on tests of abstract reasoning on which performance improved with age, he effectively rules out acquired intelligence. He seeks to only measure the intelligence alone, by disregarding in so far as possible the degree of instruction which the child possesses We give him nothing to read, nothing to write, and submit him to no test in which he might succeed by means of rote learning. (Binet & Simon, 1905). Although Binets method seems promising to measure intelligence, more modern tests are more appropriate. G factor. Intelligence is often understood to mean the most general cognitive ability. Charles Spearman was one of the first to carry out studies on general intelligence, or the g factor. Spearman disputed that g was not a single measurement that could be made but

that intelligence was more of a driving force behind various cognitive processes. He argued further that a test devised to measure g must incorporate the greatest diversity of test areas. So in choosing the right way of psychometrically measuring Intelligence, a test must be used that includes as many different cognitive processes as possible. For this reason, a modern IQ test is often the most suitable measure for g and will be used for this essay to try to see correlations between intelligence and environmental or genetic reasons behind a subjects g. Although IQ tests are often seen as a biased measurement of intelligence, this is only in a fraction of cases where it is truly an unfair test. Is intelligence innate? Evidence for intelligence being innate lies within the concept of heritability and the natural perspective of intelligence. Here, innate intelligence refers to the cognitive abilities which are present at birth but also to those abilities which mature and grow with age. Heritability can vary from 0 to 1, and it represents the proportion of variation between people that is due to genetic effects. Studies from Deary, Spinath & Bates (2006) show values of .5 to .8 for the heritability of IQ and g is also seen to be highly heritable. T. J. Bouchard, Jr. & McGue (1981) completed studies using several hundred participants: Relationship Cousins Siblings (Grew up apart) Siblings (Grew up together) Dizygotic twins (Grew up together) Monozygotic twins (grew up apart) Monozygotic twins (grew up together) Correlation of IQs 0.15 0.24 0.47 0.6 0.72 0.86

The data indicates that genetics play a significant role in intelligence, specifically the heritability of intelligence. The cousins who would be expected to have the least similar genes to each other have the lowest correlation of IQs (0.15), whereas the monozygotic twins (those who grew up together) who would be expected to have identical genes have the highest correlation of IQs (0.86). Dizygotic twins only fall slightly short of monozygotic with a correlation of 0.6. Though this data seems to show quite clearly that there is a relatively strong correlation between the similarity in the genes of participants and their intelligence, there is however a change between those who grow up together and those apart. This small variance in correlation indicates that although genes are the predominant factor here, there is still an environmental aspect that affects the intelligence of individuals. Is intelligence acquired? Research into the effects of environment on intelligence is divided into various studies to better understand how different environmental factors might affect intelligence. This is the

nurture view of intelligence. The view is that intelligence is solely gained and increased through experiences and learning within your environment. School A natural experiment occurs when schooling for a group of individuals is postponed or interrupted for a period of time but not for another group. Green, Hoffman, Morse, Hayes, and Morgan (1966), found that when one particular school closed and those students stopped receiving education for a number of years, their intelligence scores decreased by .4 standard deviations per missed year of school. This indicates highly that education and the school you attend has an effect on your intelligence. Jensen (1977) recorded a similar phenomenon in children from the same family attending different schools. He found that older siblings have systematically lower scores than their younger brothers and sisters attending better schools. This again shows the effect of schooling on the intelligence of a subject. Family environment Child development relies greatly on care from their family. Environments where children are neglected, deprived or even abused can be assumed to have strong effects on the childs development. If assuming that intelligence is an acquired characteristic and matures through childhood, then the family environment can be considered extremely important in the progress of their intelligence. Studies using c2 values (shared variance) show that the effects of family environment on a subjects intelligence become minor in adulthood. This suggests that the importance of family environment is great with respect to intelligence, however only at younger ages and during childhood.

Conclusion The debate of whether intelligence is innate or acquired seems to reach no conclusion through this research. Although there is strong evidence for intelligences heritability, within those studies there are signs showing environmental effects. If the environmental effects were minimised however, it seems likely that intelligence would be dependent on genetics in the majority of cases. The evidence for intelligence being acquired is also present, and studies show that environment and particularly education strongly affect intelligence. This evidence however is not quite as significant as those for innate intelligence.

Drawing from both sides of this question, it seems that there is no definite conclusion or answer. Intelligence appears to be effected strongly by both innate and natural aspects and also from acquired experience and environmental effects.