Understanding Human Diversity V2 > L4 - Intelligence 2 > Flashcards

L4 - Intelligence 2 Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the 3 big perspectives covered in Intelligence 2?

A

Genetic, neurobiological, and socio-cultural (environmental) perspectives.

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2
Q

Why does intelligence matter?

A

It strongly predicts education, occupation, mental/physical health, illness risk, and even mortality.

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3
Q

Key questions about intelligence differences?

A

How do people differ? Why do they differ? Is intelligence fixed or malleable?

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4
Q

What is the nature vs nurture question?

A

Whether intelligence comes from genes, environment, or an interaction of both.

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5
Q

What did Galton believe about intelligence?

A

He believed intelligence was mostly inherited and ran strongly in families.

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6
Q

What is eugenics?

A

A harmful and scientifically false theory that humans can be ‘improved’ by selective breeding and restricting reproduction of certain groups.

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7
Q

Why is eugenics scientifically wrong?

A

It assumes traits like intelligence are simply inherited and can be ‘improved’ by breeding, which is false.

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8
Q

What harms were caused by eugenics?

A

Nazi genocide, justification of slavery, forced sterilisation, institutionalisation, and oppression of marginalised groups.

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9
Q

What is fluid intelligence?

A

Ability to solve new problems, think quickly, and reason abstractly.

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10
Q

What is crystallised intelligence?

A

Knowledge and skills gained from experience, education, and culture.

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11
Q

How do fluid and crystallised intelligence change with age?

A

Both rise in childhood; fluid peaks in mid‑20s then declines; crystallised increases for many years.

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12
Q

How stable is intelligence across life?

A

Very stable; e.g., IQ at 11 correlates r = .54 with IQ at 90 (Deary et al., 2013).

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13
Q

What does a heritability of 50% mean?

A

Genes explain 50% of differences between people in a population—not 50% of any one person’s intelligence.

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14
Q

Does heritability describe individuals?

A

No. It describes variation in groups, not how much genes caused one person’s IQ.

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15
Q

What do family studies measure?

A

Resemblance between relatives based on degree of genetic similarity.

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16
Q

What do twin studies compare?

A

MZ twins (100% genes) vs DZ twins (~50% genes).

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17
Q

What do adoption studies test?

A

Whether adopted children resemble biological or adoptive parents more.

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18
Q

How do correlation patterns support genetic influence on IQ?

A

IQ similarity drops as genetic similarity drops: MZ > DZ > siblings > unrelated.

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19
Q

What does reduced similarity when relatives are raised apart show?

A

Environmental influence on intelligence.

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20
Q

What heritability does Plomin et al. (2004) report?

A

Around 50% from combined family, twin, and adoption data.

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21
Q

What range do IQ heritability estimates span in the literature?

A

Around 30% to 80% depending on study design and age.

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22
Q

How does heritability change with age (Haworth et al., 2010)?

A

It increases from childhood to adulthood due to gene–environment interaction.

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23
Q

Why might twin/adoption samples reduce representativeness?

A

Adoptive families are usually high SES; MZ twins share more similar environments than DZ twins.

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24
Q

Why is genetic influence on IQ complex?

A

Intelligence is influenced by many genes interacting with each other and the environment.

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25
What is assortative mating?
Choosing partners similar to oneself, e.g., similar IQ.
26
How correlated are spouses’ IQs (Watson et al., 2004)?
About r = .40.
27
Why does assortative mating affect heritability estimates?
It increases genetic similarity between parents, making children more similar than random expectation.
28
Is intelligence genetic?
Partly—genes play a major role, but not 100%. Environment is also essential.
29
Is intelligence fixed?
No. High heritability does NOT mean fixed; intelligence is still malleable.
30
Is intelligence 'hard-wired' in the brain?
No—brain structure/function contributes, but both genes and environment shape the brain.
31
What is the evolutionary idea about brain size?
Larger brains with more neurons allow more complex thinking.
32
What is the correlation between brain volume and IQ?
Meta-analyses show small-to-moderate positive correlations (r = .24 to .33).
33
How does cortical thickness change with age?
Thickens early in life, then thins during adolescence (pruning).
34
How does cortical development relate to IQ (Shaw et al., 2006)?
High-IQ children show prolonged cortical thickening, especially in frontal regions.
35
What does white matter do?
It contains neural pathways that let brain regions communicate efficiently.
36
How is white matter linked to intelligence?
Higher IQ is linked to better white matter integrity and connectivity.
37
What is P-FIT (Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory)?
A theory that intelligence depends heavily on communication between frontal and parietal brain areas.
38
How do high-IQ brains behave during tasks?
They often show less activation—processing is more efficient.
39
What brain features are associated with intelligence?
Greater brain volume, cortical development patterns, stronger white matter connectivity, and efficient activation patterns.
40
Do brain differences prove intelligence is genetic?
No. Brain differences may be caused by genes, environment, or both.
41
What are the four main environmental factors influencing intelligence (Neisser et al., 1996)?
Biological environment (prenatal, nutrition), family environment, schooling, and culture.
42
What is the Flynn effect?
The worldwide rise in IQ scores observed over the 20th century.
43
How large are Flynn effect gains?
About +15 points per generation on nonverbal tests; +9 on verbal tests.
44
What evidence supports the Flynn effect?
Meta-analyses of millions of participants show rising IQs across 31 countries (Pietschnig & Voracek, 2015).
45
Are IQ gains still rising?
No. They have slowed or reversed in some countries recently.
46
Why can't genetics explain the Flynn effect?
Genetic evolution is too slow to explain rapid IQ gains over decades.
47
What is the nutrition hypothesis for IQ rise?
Improved nutrition, health, height, lifespan, and reduced disease improved cognitive development.
48
What is the cognitive stimulation hypothesis?
More schooling, complex environments, parental interaction, smaller families, and educational toys increased cognitive skills.
49
How does smoking during pregnancy affect IQ?
Heavy maternal smoking is linked to lower IQ in offspring at age 18/19.
50
How does alcohol during pregnancy affect IQ?
Alcohol exposure leads to memory, attention, planning, and abstract thinking problems (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome).
51
Is breastfeeding linked to higher IQ?
Breastfed children often show slightly higher IQ, but this is mostly explained by maternal intelligence and SES.
52
How is SES related to intelligence?
SES correlates with IQ (r ≈ .30–.40) and predicts growth in intelligence over childhood.
53
Can improving SES raise intelligence?
Yes. Better resources, stability, and education contribute to IQ increases.
54
What did Belmont & Marolla (1973) find about family size?
Larger families had children with lower IQ scores (controlling for SES).
55
What was found about birth order?
First-borns had higher IQ; IQ declined with higher birth order.
56
Why might birth-order effects be a methodological artefact (Kanazawa, 2012)?
Large families tend to have lower parental IQ, so later-born children come from lower-IQ families on average.
57
What does Harris' group socialisation theory say about intelligence?
Peers and non-shared environments may shape intelligence more than family, especially as children age.
58
How does schooling affect intelligence?
More schooling increases IQ; missing school lowers IQ.
59
How many IQ points does each year of schooling add (Ceci, 1991)?
About +2.7 IQ points per year of schooling.
60
Do IQ scores drop during long summer holidays?
Yes. Scores decrease when children are out of school for long periods.
61
How does culture shape definitions of intelligence?
Different cultures value different abilities: academic (Western/Asian), practical/social (African), etc.
62
What are the four Luo concepts of intelligence?
Rieko (academic), Paro (practical thinking), Luoro (social responsibility), Winjo (comprehension).
63
Why may IQ tests not be culturally fair?
They rely on skills valued in Western cultures; some cultures emphasise different abilities.
64
Are Raven’s Matrices culture fair?
They reduce language influence but still require abstract reasoning that may be culturally specific.
65
What is social constructivism in intelligence?
The view that intelligence is shaped by society’s values, language, norms, and institutions, not just biology.
66
Is intelligence fixed?
No. Intelligence is influenced by genes and environment and can change across life.
67
What interaction best explains intelligence?
Nature WITH nurture—both genetics and environment working together.
Understanding Human Diversity V2
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