In the article, Born First, Born Smarter?, researchers, Robert Zajonc and Gregory Markus, clarify and elucidate the mystery as to why firstborn children tend to have a higher intelligence than that of a subsequent child. The research given in the article was influenced by the data and findings of Belmont and Marolla, as well as other nameless researchers. The theory that Zajonc and Markus proposed was that the birth order of children was closely related to their intelligence ranking. Through their research they began to decipher and support this theory. Zajonc and Markus also presented the idea, “that as family size increased, the average intellectual climate of the family decreased.” In other words, the subsequent children are influenced differently than a first born, so their intellectual stimulation is more lacking, causing a decrease in the overall family confluence score. The researchers organized an experiment to explain this concept. The experiment consisted of two parents who each started out a value of 100 and each infant received a value of 0. As more babies were born, the family’s average intellectual value went down up until the fifth child where it picks back up again because the cognitive value of each child goes up as they get older.
As a family grows, there is a variance in ages,
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Through data from Raven test scores and pulled information from other studies, Zajonc and Markus were able to dig deeper into the investigation of validating their hypothesis. Nevertheless, their information cannot actually be presented as concrete evidence. On that note, many scientists actually oppose their theory and believe nurturing is more of a factor in the development of a child’s intellectual ability. Both theories overlap to an extent, but there still remain
The Nurture vs. Nature has been a long standing debate amongst psychologists. This psychological controversy questions whether or not the environment has more or less to do with the outcome of a child’s psychological development than the genetics involved. The nurture side of the argument is highly illustrated by the memoir The Other Wes Moore, by Wes Moore, due to the fact that both of their lives although starting off similar, ended dramatically different.
The Bell Curve is a book originally published in 1994. It was written by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray to explain the variations of intelligence in American Society. They accomplished this by using statistical analysis, for the purpose of raising warnings regarding the consequences of the intelligence gap. This was also made to propose a national social policy with the goal of mitigating bad consequences that have been attributed to this intelligence gap. Much of the information is widely considered controversial. An example of this is the low African-American scores compared to whites and Asians, and genetic factors in intelligence abilities. The introduction of the book starts with a brief history of intelligence theory and recent developments in intelligence thought and testing. The author creates six assumptions that has to do with the validity of the “classical” cognitive testing techniques.
Birth order is a key element in gaining an understanding of one's self as well as other people. Through birth order placement, one develops a behavior pattern as well as ways of thinking and emotional responses. This effects all aspects of living such as, expectations, mental weaknesses, marriage, and spirituality. Understanding the birth order characteristics is a simple method in determining how and what makes another individual "tick."
The experiment that I read was "Born First, Born Smarter". It was a study done by R. B. Zajonc and G. B. Markus in 1975. They planned to see why recent research had determined that the first-born child in a family related to certain characteristics. It was round that first-born children tend to be more verbally articulate, less impulsive, more active, better performers in school, more likely to go to college, and tend to have a greater need to achieve. It was also found that earlier-born children tend to score higher on tests of intelligence and aptitude than those born into the family later. One of the things researchers looked at was the different environments that a first-born and second-born enter into. The first born enters a world of just two adults. The second child's environment is significantly different because it enters a world of two adults and one young child. I believe this would have a big effect on the second child because he/she's parents will have to give attention to the first-born along with the second-born.
The key difference between Walter Isaacson’s, author of “The Genius of Jobs”, and Carol Dweck’s, author of “The Secret to Raising Smart Kids”, perspective of intelligence lies in their thought of inherent ability; Isaacson believes that intelligence is a natural gift that can be expanded upon, but Dweck would respond by agreeing to a degree but believing that the beauty of intelligence lies in that expansion.
Whether giftedness is a product of nature or created through nurture is a controversial discussion. However, Winner (2000), Colangelo & Davis (2003), Mrazik & Dombrowski (2010) all agree the answer lies somewhere in the middle. The idea of giftedness is often evaluated under the premise of expertness or mastery. Do all gifted children become masters or experts of their gifted area? Can people become gifted through extensive training (which is required for expertness)? Winner states that families cannot make a child become gifted, however, certain parenting styles that combine nurturance and stimulation can help maintain and nurture the gift. Winner reviewed many studies on hard work, perseverance, and practice, none of which can explain the origins of giftedness, but are very necessary for high achievement. Colangelo and Davis propose that high intelligence alone will not provide high levels of achievement, but may be necessary for achievement.
Loehlin, John C., Lindzey Gardner, and J.N. Spuhler. Race Differences in Intelligence. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1975.
Praise of intelligence had backfired. Dr. Dweck had suspected this would happen. She explained that quote, "Emphasizing effort gives a child a variable that they can control...They come to see themselves in control of their success. Emphasizing natural intelligence takes it out of the child's control, and it provides no good recipe for responding to failure," unquote. Children who believe intelligence is the key to success discredit effort and don't seem to understand its importance. When labeled "smart," kids think, "I'm smart, I don't need to put effort." Dr. Dweck repeated her experiments on different groups of students, and results were the same, regardless of socioeconomic status, age, or gender. Preschoolers even showed the same
Nature versus nurture is an argument in psychology over whether a person’s innate qualities and behaviors are caused from their environment or if they’re born with it. Vygotsky places more emphasis on the social factors that contribute to cognitive development, in other words he is in favor of the nurture argument. He believes that everyone learns from their culture, environment, and social interactions. He talks about a few of his theories like the zone of proximal development, and a more knowledgeable other. He also expresses his thoughts on developmental tools and the importance of language to cognitive development. All of these factors together support his idea that children’s behavior is learned.
On the ‘nature’ side of the debate is the psychometric approach, considered to be the most dominant in the study of intelligence, which “inspired the most research and attracted the most attention” (Neisser et al. 1996, p. 77). It argues that there is one general (‘g’) factor which accounts for intelligence. In the 1880s, Francis Galton conducted many tests (measuring reaction times to cognitive tasks), (Boundless 2013), in order to scientifically measure intelligence. These tests were linked to the eugenic breeding programme, which aimed to eliminate biologically inferior people from society. Galton believed that as intelligence was inherited, social class or position were significant indicators of intelligence. If an individual was of high social standing, they would be more intelligent than those of a lower position. However he failed to show any consistency across the tests for this hypothesis, weakening his theory that social class correlated with intelligence. Nevertheless, his creation of the intelligence test led many to continue to develop...
Undoubtedly, humans are unique and intricate creatures and their development is a complex process. It is this process that leads people to question, is a child’s development influenced by genetics or their environment? This long debate has been at the forefront of psychology for countless decades now and is better known as “Nature versus Nurture”. The continuous controversy over whether or not children develop their psychological attributes based on genetics (nature) or the way in which they have been raised (nurture) has occupied the minds of psychologists for years. Through thorough reading of experiments, studies, and discussions however, it is easy to be convinced that nurture does play a far more important in the development of a human than nature.
This is an essay about the different theories of intelligence; it will discuss which theory is best at determining intelligence in my opinion. The information provided will help describe the pros and cons of each of the theories being used to define intelligence, explain why is it important to assess children’s intelligence, and discuss the type of intelligence I possess. The different theories of intelligence are complex and understanding the elements of each can help an individual choose the one that they believe is the best for determining intelligence. Comparing the positive and the negative elements of each theory of intelligence will allow an individual to see both sides of the theory and the flaws that may be twisted
Wood, A. E., Wood, E. G., & Boyd, D. (2007). Child development: The world of psychology.
Professor Bigot argues that intelligence is only influenced by nature, meaning it is entirely based in genetics, and that one's environment or surroundings can't influence it. However, Dr. Bigot's argument does have some truth to it. With the purpose of investigating the role of genetics in intelligence, researchers have approached twin studies. According to Bouchard and McGue (1981), the closer the biological relationship, the higher the IQ correlation is. This idea was the result of a meta-analysis of 111 studies of IQ correlations between siblings from research studies on intelligence. The Minnesota Twin Study (Bouchard et al. 1990) studies identical twins raised together and identical twins raised apart. Bouchard et al (1990) concluded that 70% of intelligence is associated to genetic inheritance. Therefore, 30% of intelligence may be attributed to other factors. Although the Minnesota Twin Study has been one of the most impressive twin studies carried out, there are several criticisms that test its validity. One of its greatest criticisms was the "equal environment assumption", which states that it can't be assumed that twins reared together are exposed to the same environment.
The Oxford Dictionary defines intelligence as “the ability acquire and apply knowledge and skills.” Many people are born naturally intelligent, able to grasp and understand concepts easily, with little work. In children, it is easy to separate those born with higher intellectual ability from the rest, because they easily excel in learning. This skill is often lost by those born with it, and through a great deal of work others attain it. In order for an individual to have true intelligence into her adult years, she must foster what gifts she is given, and strive to better her self academically. Even as early as elementary school, many who are born with natural talent begin to fall behind intellectually. These students are often not