What influences intelligence more: heredity or environment? This question caused a lot of debates among psychologists, resulting in their division into two camps: Hereditarianists and Environmentalists. However there are psychologists who hold that intelligence is a result of both nature and nurture.
The most famous experiment conducted in this regard is called “Twins experiment”. The experiment showed such correlations: identical twins reared together have .86 IQ similarities, while the identical twins reared apart have .72 IQ similarities. Children reared together but genetically unrelated have .25 IQ similarities on average. (16 factors that influences people's intelligence) As we can see, the influence of heredity is significant, though environment does not stay apart. Environment influences children development on several levels, such as: society, life experience, culture, and family. (Aljabber, 2001) Some families focus on education more than others: foster child’s success at school and encourage his/her development. Children nurtured in such families show higher IQ scores than children nurtured in families which focus primarily on survival skills.
According to Wechsler, “Intelligence is the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his environment”. (Wechsler, 1944, p. 3) Many psychologists start to realize that intelligence is something that cannot be measured as a material thing. IQ testing, so popular nowadays, measures only a tiny part of the human intelligence potential, therefore it is not designated to determine if a person is smart or stupid. Sir Ken Robinson holds that intelligence is such a broad concept that even standard school or college disciplines cannot reflect its whole picture. Intelligence is not only about ability to solve mathematical problems; intelligence can be measured by dance, music, etc. Howard Gardner proposed eight intelligence components, such as: Visual-spatial, Verbal-linguistic, Bodily-kinesthetic, Logical-mathematical, Interpersonal, Musical, Intra personal, Naturalistic. Robert Sternberg describes three different types of intelligence: Analytical, Creative, and Practical. Analytical intelligence deals with problem solving, Creative intelligence is the ability to use past experiences to cope with the new situations, and the Practical intelligence refers to person’s ability to adapt to environment which is changing. (Cherry)
Works Cited
16 factors that influences people's intelligence. (n.d.). Retrieved from Preserve Articles: http://www.preservearticles.com/201104195550/16-factors-that-influences- peoples-intelligence.html
Aljabber, J. (2001, Fall). Is intelligence influenced by heritability, environmental influences, or both? How Intelligence Is Influenced By These Factors?
Cherry, K. (n.d.). Theories of Intelligence. Retrieved from About/Psychology: http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/p/intelligence.htm
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HEREDITY VERSUS …