Intelligence - 3 Flashcards
What is meant by heritability?
- Statistical concept that describes how much variation of a given trait can be attributed to genetic variation in a population
- Range from zero to 1
What is heritability of intelligence in the UK?
- 0.4-0.7
- 40% to 70% of the variability in the trait intelligence in the UK population is due to genetic differences among people.
- remaining variability is due to environmental factors such as nutrition, education income
Why would scientists compare intelligence in identical and non-identical twins?
-So see how much of their intelligence is due to heritability
What are examples of environmental and social influences on intelligence?
- Childhood nutrition
- Education
- Health and infection
- Socio economic factors
- Exposure to stress in childhood
- Exposure to environmental toxins
- Exposure to certain drugs
How can nutrition impact brain development and then subsequently intelligence?
-Malnutrition in pregnancy leads to low birthweight and loss of 4-8 IQ points and cognitive development delay
What is stunting?
-Impaired cognitive development delay
What is the effect of prolonged malnutrition in childhood?
- During first two years of life, brain grows to 80% of its adult size
- Malnutrition can affect brain growth and subsequently reason, visuospatial functions, language development, IQ and academic development
- Reduction of 15 IQ points
What scheme was introduced by the government to help combat under nourishment?
- Free school dinners
- Breakfast
What does iron deficiency in pregnancy result in during childhood?
-Children result in fall of 12 IQ points
What is the correlation between breast-feeding and IQ?
-women with higher IQs are more likely to breast feed.
What is the general correlation between education and IQ?
- The is correlation value of 0.8
- more years of education is associated with higher IQ
- children with higher IQ tend to stay in school longer
- Children who start school late or leave early have lower IQs
- Children’s IQ is decreased during summer holidays
What two parental factors are good predictors of childhood intelligence?
- Parental income
- Parental education
What factors determine success in school?
- Motivation
- Persistence
- Willing to study
- Interest in school
What diseases are low intelligence associated with?
-associated with increased likelihood of some cancers, CVD, respiratory disease, and higher mortality
What is infectious disease are primary cause of?
- global variation in human intelligence
- fighting infection decreases Childs IQ, as it requires a lot of energy to maintain immune response
What two factors have negative impact on intellectual development?
- Deprivation
- Neglect
How does exposure to domestic violence affect school grades, IQ and reading?
- Lower school grades and IQ
- Trauma related stress lead to decrease in IQ by 7.5
- Reading decrement of 9.8 in young children
What 3 factors are also said to affect children grades?
- Neighbourhood
- Dangerous environment
- Parenting styles (especially mother and child)
Which environmental toxins lead to neuro-developmental disorders and impact on intelligence?
-lead, mercury, toluene, PCB, air pollution
How does lead exposure at 24 months affect Intellectual and academic performance and at what age?
-Even slightly elevated lead levels around the age of 24 months are associated with intellectual and academic performance deficits at age 10 years
How does air pollution affect performance in tests and memory?
- Affects cognitive performance in verbal and maths tests
- Affects STM
What brain disease does air pollution contribute to?
- Brain inflammation
- Parkinsons
- Alzheimers
Where could lead be found?
- petrol and paint
- eliminated in 1960 and 200
Where can mercury be found and what is its effect?
- Fish
- Reduced IQ
What is one of the most preventable causes of intellectual disability?
-Feotal alcohol syndrome caused by exposure to alcohol during pregnancy
What is impact of tobacco on IQ?
- no evidence for biological association
- lower IQ is associated with cigarette smoking behaviour
How does substance abuse affect IQ?
- detrimental impact on IQ if exposure occurs in utero
- people with higher childhood IQ more likely to take illegal drugs including cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, ecstasy, ketamine etc by age of 30
Which 3 medications can cause birth defects in children and cause low IQ?
-sodium valproate, thalidomide, Benadryl
What drugs are also known as smart drugs and name 2 examples
- Nootropics
- Modafinil
- Adderall
What is the Flynn effect?
-Substancial and long-term increase in IQ
What are 4 reasons in Flynn effect?
- Better health
- Better nutrition
- More and better education
- Rising standards of living
