On my first day at SC 200, my professor said something that really made me wonder. “You’re smarter than your parents, your grandchildren are smarter than their parents who’re smarter than you.”
So is Intelligence inherited or is it developed through our experiences in life? Or maybe it’s a combination of both.
In my Psychology class, we did some research on the connecting between Intelligence and genes.
We decided to test identical twins, fraternal twins and siblings.
Identical twins have 86% chance of getting the same exact IQ.
Fraternal twins have 60% chance of getting the same exact IQ.
Siblings have 46% chance of getting the same exact IQ.
Random people have 0% correlation.
Which suggests a strong genetic link to intelligence.
This study that we did in my Psychology class took us by surprise, 86% of getting the same exact IQ suggests a very very strong genetic link, but what if we tested Identical twins that have been separated at birth? Since it’s hard to find Identical twins who have been separated at birth and are willing to participate in a research, the numbers aren’t that accurate. Research suggest that more than 70% of Identical twins who have been separated at birth have the same exact IQ.
I came to the conclusion that there is a strong genetic link to intelligence, but it’s also developed as well. We can’t deny the genetic link nor the developmental factor in our Intelligence.
The twin study is a very important method to study anything with genetic connections. But, adoption is also a very effective way to look at the difference between genetic inheritance and environmental development. Comparing normal traits of adopted children with their real parents and their adopted parents. Research show that Intelligence, facial resemblance, height, color, etc… is closer to the real parents. However, table manners, social behavior, languages, etc… is closer to the adopted parents. Even though genes play huge part in Intelligence, research definitely show an environmental development connection.
Works Cited
Gayle, Damien. “Thank Your Parents If You’re Smart: Up to 40% of a Child’s Intelligence Is Inherited, Researchers Claim.” Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 15 Mar. 2013. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.
“Intelligence and Genetics: Do Some People Inherit an Edge?” Motherboard. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.
The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.
I really enjoyed this post. In order to receive good grades, I would always have to study and work a lot harder than any of my friends. School just came easy to them. I wondered why this was, and then I thought about my parents. Both extremely successful people, but never received the best grades either. My mother did not go to college, but still managed to become the manager of a well known restoration company on Long Island, where I’m from. My father did get a college education, but from the stories he has told me, he was not at the top of his class, but he still came out with a degree! I work to get decent grades and I try hard to take advantage of academic opportunities because I value my education. I do not blame my parents for me not being the sharpest tool in the shed, I thank them for raising me to try my best in school and work hard for what I want.
This is something that has always been interesting to me because my parents both finished at the top of their class, and I was put in advanced classes from a very young age, but my sister always needed a bit more help in school. I was tempted to say that I have friends whose parents weren’t the brightest in school and they followed suit, but that is anecdotal and also may not have to do with genetics just how much help their parents were able to give them when it came to school versus all the help my parents were able to give me. Another interesting thing to look at is kids who go to extremely mismanaged schools in poorer neighborhoods yet still have an extremely high capacity for knowledge. I think those kids who don’t have access to a good education or advanced learning materials and end up having insanely high IQs are very interesting. It shows that there is something probably genetic within them that allows them to be so smart.
Hey, I like the topic you chose and the way you included a study that you yourself have participated in at your class. I want to mention that I fully agree with your conclusion. The reason I agree is because in my family I have two cousins who are twins. Although, fraternal, they still share the same genetic DNA and they both have been accepted to the same colleges. Thus, to get accepted to the same school they would need to be in the same intelligent bracket more often than none. I would also say that your mentioning of the development of intelligence has to be similar is true because both of my cousins have also attended all the same schools since childhood. Therefore, I believe with the same education track and same genes I contributes to the similar intelligence between the two. Moreover, I would like for you to take a look at this website:
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/oct/28/student-gets-perfect-sat-score-and-so-does-her/
It is an article about twins who both scored a perfect 2400 points on their SATs. The odds of that happening is near to impossible. I think this story, as well as other twins that you can also look up and read about who scored perfect 36 scores on the ACT, adds to the theory that “You’re smarter than your parents, your grandchildren are smarter than their parents who’re smarter than you.”