Environmental Factors Affecting Intelligence Quotient

As scientists continue to their research, fundamental questions about intelligence are brought to the surface.

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What is intelligence exactly? Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills or “the ability to learn and understand things to

Carol S. Dweck uses intelligence as a form of measurement that measures how heavy of a workload someone can receive and understand, and how it can be expanded through effort. In an essay that was

Gottfredson, (1997) stated that intelligence is ‘a very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience.

The definition of intelligence has strongly been debated over for many centuries, and many individuals have their arguments for what it is. So what is really the true meaning of intelligence? Some, such as college professor of psychology, Carol S. Dweck, strongly believes that intelligence is something achieved through large amounts effort and having optimistic mindsets as inferred in her article, “The Secret to Raising Smart Kids”. However, on the other hand, successful author of best selling novel “Steve Jobs”, Walter Isaacson, claims that intelligence is an abstract idea that is derived from ingenuity and applying creativity to life and other material concepts. With almost completely opposite sets of beliefs, it is likely that Dweck will not agree with Isaacson’s nation of intelligence being derived from natural intuition rather than raw intelligence.

Intelligence by definition is “the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills” (Oxford Dictionary, 2014). However, many psychologists argue that there is no standard definition of ‘intelligence’, and there have been many different theories over time as psychologists try to find better ways to define this concept (Boundless 2013). While some believe in a single, general intelligence, others believe that intelligence involves multiple abilities and skills. Another largely debated concept is whether intelligence is genetically determined and fixed, or whether is it open to change, through learning and environmental influence. This is commonly known as the nature vs. nurture debate.

His findings have concluded that environmental factors explains 58 percent of IQ variations around the world. If IQ tests were able to compare different backgrounds of different races, it would be more apparent. An American clinical psychologist Terrie Moffitt, said that negative environments (low social status or ineffective parenting) could affect a child 's intelligence even more (Parker/Morton 1). There is a way to make a child smarter and that starts from an upbringing environment that is positive (Hurley). While bringing in the genetics of an individual based on their skin color, there are also different environmental factors that can contribute to the correlation between race and intelligence.

intelligence is determined by environment or genetics. The fact that human DNA is nearly identical across

Nisbett, R. E. (2004) Heredity, environment, and race differences in IQ: A commentary on Rushton and Jensen. Retrieved October 12, 2016 from, PsycINFO Database.

Heritability is a statistical estimate of the proportion of the total variance in some trait that is attributable to genetic differences among individuals within a group. The question for the environment and intelligence is: What kinds of experiences hinder intellectual development and what kinds of environmental “nutrients” promote it? Some of the influences associated with reduced mental ability are: Poor prenatal care, malnutrition, exposure to toxins, and stressful family

When it comes to cognitive capacity, it isn’t solely based on genes because of nonresistant variables like prenatal drug use, poor nutrition, environmental toxins, and other harmful external factors. These variables listed are more prevalent in low-income households. With households, where you live predetermines your destiny when it comes to an education. This is the reason why there is an unproportioned amount of poor kids in certain schools and rich kids with others. In his article, Joseph Burke states that, “…poverty greatly decreases the student’s learning ability, and public schools and teachers must become more creative at finding ways to mitigate the negative effects of poverty in the classroom.” This is not only true, but makes the

Identical twin studies are most useful in determining genetic influence on intelligence. Since the identical twins share the same exact genes, the straightforward comparison of intelligence can display if this human trait is truly heritable. Similarity of intelligence scores between identical twins supports the genetic influence on intelligence. According to Myers (2007),

Although intelligence is a concept, there are many definitions that try to describe and interpret intelligence for people. One of the many definitions is the “capacity to understand” (World English Dictionary: Intelligence). This definition is describing intelligence and giving one facet of the diamond that is the various definitions of intelligence. This simple definition is often used by many common people, but a more in depth definition is “the ability to derive information, learn from experience, adapt to the environment, understand, and correctly utilize thought and reaction” (APA Dictionary of Psychology: Intelligence). This definition delves deeper into intelligence and paints a general picture of intelligence but is unable to define intelligence for a simple reason. Intelligence is a concept and thus is impossible to completely define by one comprehensive definition.

In the author's study, a person's scores on various tests reflect their social achievements in the future. If they scores higher, mostly they will have a higher social class inside the society. But if they scores lower, mostly they will have a lower social class. The author identified that intelligence is so important to a person's life, and the level of intelligence is based on the assumption that "IQ is affected by genetic inheritance", moreover the author believes that “IQ cannot be increased through external help, including education”, so the author argue that social inequality is destined. Since social inequality is destined to be natural and unavoidable, and a person’s social achievement is closely related to IQ, even if the government devotes a great deal of money to implement programs to educate the poor, it is futile because the low intelligences level makes them difficult to succeed, but at the same time drag those people who have higher