IQ and the Controversy Concerning Human Intelligence

IQ and the Controversy Concerning Human Intelligence

Human intelligence is an eel-like subject: slippery, difficult to grasp, and almost impossible to get straight [3]. Many scientist and psychologist have made numerous attempts to come up with an explanation for the development of human intelligence. For many years, there has been much controversy over what intelligence is and whether it is hereditary or nurtured by the environment. Webster's dictionary defines intelligence as "the ability to acquire and apply knowledge; which includes a sensing an environment and reaching conclusions about the state of that environment [7]. In this paper I am going to examine the factors, which make up ones intelligence. I will be investigating whether or not intelligence is fostered by genetic heritance or nurtured by ones environment.

"There can be of course no serious doubt that differences in environment experiences do contribute to variation in IQ [5]. The environment is made of circumstances, objects, and conditions by which a human, animal, plant or object are surrounded in science. It has been argued that the environment in a child's developing years could in fact be a factor that will determine this IQ. In a study of adoptive and biologically related familys psychologist Scarr and Weinberg recognized that with children between 16 and 22 years of age, environment was more powerful in influencing IQ level in the young child, than the young adult. Scarr and Weinberg reasoned that "environment exerts a greater influence on children, who have little choice; as they age, diversity age, diversity and availability of choices expands, and if these choices are at least partially determined by genetic factors, the influence of environment is there by diminished.

Heritability is a term from the population of genetics. It refers to"the capability of being passed from one generation to the next [1]. Intelligence has for centuries been considered as fixed trait. A number of investigators have taken an approach that intelligence is highly heritable, transmitted through genes [3]. Kinship studies have shown that the habitability of IQ is significantly less than 1.0, and recent attempts to model kinship correlation especially in children have agreed that IQ is influenced both by the child's parent and the environment. Other factors such as parental affection, birth order, gender differences, and experiences outside the family, accidents, and illnesses may account for IQ.

Writer of Hereditary Genius, Francis Galton developed a theory know as the "genius theory.