Psy 215

Professor Olmstead
1/20/13
Intellectual life
Question: Is intelligence genetic?
Prediction: I think that intelligence is partly genetic. You can be born with
more genetic intelligence than another person. However it depends what you
do with that. Learning and education have more to do with intelligence than
genetics. A person can be born without a high intelligence genetics but if
they work hard and persevere they can become very intelligent.
Summary of text:
Summary of article 1: The first article I read was entitled Life-long
intelligence in the genes. They wrote of a study that started 80 years ago.
Around 2,000 children were studied to see what role genes have in
maintaining intelligence into old age. Some peoples intelligence maintains
better than others. They believed that genetic factors could be interacting
with the environment. According to the researchers there is much more to be
studied on this subject, but genetic influences on intelligence do exist.
Intelligence may partly be genetic and partly be based on experiences a
person has. There is not a definite answer to which weighs heavier.
Validity: This article was published on Nature.com the International weekly
journal of science. The latter part of the study was conducted by research
psychologist Ian Deary of the University of Edinburgh, UK. I believe this is a
valid study, even though he did not conduct the first part of it.
Heidi Ledford, Nature.com, http://www.nature.com/news/life-longintelligence-in-the-genes-1.9842, Jan 18, 2012, Life-Long intelligence in the
genes.
Summary of article 2: The second article I read was called First Gene to
Be Linked with High Intelligence Is Reported Found, and is from 1998. Just
as the title says the article is writing of the first gene that is connected to
intelligence. Psychologists believe that genes can account for about 50% in
the difference of IQ. The research was done by Dr. Robert Plomin, an
American behavioral geneticist. In his study he found that a part of a certain
gene was more common in the children with high I.Q.s that he tested, than
the children with average I.Q.s. That gene can account for about 2% of the
difference.

Validity: The article was published on the New York Times website. The
research was done by Dr. Robert Plomin, an American behavioral geneticist,
and his associates who work at the Institute of Psychiatry in London. Many
other Psychologists commented in the article about his work.
Reflection: My prediction turned out to be mostly true. Intelligence may be
partly genetic, however it will always change with how the person uses that
to their advantage. Experience and motivation also play a big role in the
intelligence of a person.
Application to my life: This subject can make everyone think, but I dont
think it relates to me more than others. It makes me understand myself
more, and others as well. I have always known that everyone learns
different, however now I see where than may come from. Intelligence being
connected to genes only seems natural, because of the other half of that.
Those people with disabilities ended up that way because of their genes.
Nicholas Wade, Nytimes.com, http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/14/us/first-

gene-to-be-linked-with-high-intelligence-is-reported-found.html?src=pm, May
14, 1998, First Gene to Be Linked with High Intelligence Is Reported Found.