The Dickens Flynn Effect

“Trying to separate out nature and nurture as explanations for behavior, as in classic genetic studies of twins and families, is now said to be both impossible and unproductive” (Levitt, 1). Social scientists have declared the nature-nurture debate to be unnecessary. Similarly, scientists feel that such debate is not only unhelpful, but also outdated. From geneticists’ perspective, nurture and nature interact to influence

One of the first things a child is taught while growing up is the well-known cliché, practice makes perfect. This phrase has been the basis for trial and error situations time and time again, where if it doesn’t work the first time then keep trying. In Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell leaves the audience with a memorable observation, the 10,000 hour rule. The basis of the 10,000 hour rule is that an area of interest requires 10,000 hours of practice in order to become an expert. Although this may be true in some situations, how can someone practice something they are unable to do? Natural talent and ability are crucial characteristics in order to become an expert in any area. This phenomena highly lends itself to the observations made about intelligence and genetics. The main misunderstanding when considering whether this argument is fundamentally nature or nurture is the difference between intelligence and education. Many consider education to be exactly equal to intelligence, which is the basis for the believing that working hard will essentially result in intelligence. Intelligence is considered as “a very general mental capability that, among other things, involved the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience” (Colangelo19-39.) Qualities that make up the realm of intelligence are things that people are simply born with and cannot easily be taught and trained. One may be able to work twice as hard as the next person and equalize their achievements, but the essential difference at work is the way the mind process information and the difference between intelligence and education. Although some consider intelligence to be an environmentally based attribute, they fail to understand the true meaning of

Jared Diamond hypothesizes that New Guineas might be “smarter” then Westerners because of the fact that New Guinea’s suffered from high mortality rates. Instead of genetics in body chemistry to fight off the diseases, the New Guinea people obtained genetics that benefited their intelligence. The second reason, is that the New Guineans children spent most of their time walking around and talking with others since they did not have other sources for entertainment. The children that lived in New Guinea mentally developed better because they did not spend their time entertaining themselves with other activities that might have stunted the western children’s growth and development.

Gladwell reveals that to excel in the world, one must be born with or introduced to the right tools. These tools may include being born into a high class home, when one is born, as well as being recognized early in school. When Lewis Terman, in 1921, conducted the Genetic Study of Genius observation, he only took into account the subjects I.Q. scores. It wasn’t until later, when he noticed the divergence of three different groups A, B, and C, did he realize that it wasn’t only about scores. The groups were separated by societal class, group A born from the high end of the scale while C was from the lower end. Group A, as well as most of B, did superb at the same time that group C fell out. Intelligence

The role of the environment was minimalized due to Burt’s (1909) theory, intelligence was viewed as a fixed inborn state that could neither be developed or changed (Parrington 1996). Burt’s (1909) influence came from his research through the years 1920 to 1970, when children were segregated by capability. This was noticeable during secondary education

whether intelligence has had a major increase over the past century. The data reviewed includes

In the case of Eugenics and the science behind it, I am very glad we as a society no longer believe in it and depend on it. Science is used in every aspect of life for new discoveries and life but I do personally believe that in the case of Eugenics, that science was misused. In the past, eugenics was used and many women was sterilized for not having high enough IQ scores and considered to have a low intelligence against their will. I don’t think that an IQ test can test how smart a person can become or how smart their future offspring will become. I do believe in genetics and heredity but we do have the right in our own intelligence. Humans are made to go to school to learn the basics of life and history and I don’t believe there is a limit to how much a person can learn. I have gone through all of high school, undergrad, and now going for my masters and I of all people should know that every day we all learn new things and our brain can constantly make new connections and become more intelligent. It is up to each and every person as to when they want their intelligence to stop. Now back to Gould’s’ book, he offers many good arguments about intelligence and how history has improved and ideas are always changing.

Many scholars believe that "the new science of behavioral genetics has intellectual roots in the old ideas of Eugenics" (Steen 33). Eugenics disguised a political agenda as a scientific one in an attempt to endow discrimination with credibility. Supporters of genetic determinism theories do the same. Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray defend the theory of genetic determinism in The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life, which was published ten years ago. Their book is one of the most widely referenced works regarding the theory that intelligence is inherited. The authors claim that the social order mirrors natural selection, wherein the genetically superior or more intelligent human rises to the top. Of course this means that the lower class, predominantly blacks, are represented as genetically inferior (xxi-xxiii). The authors claim that "ethnic differences in cognitive ability are neither surprising nor in doubt" (269) and attribute the inequality of life among Americans to inherent differences between races in intelligence (127). Their argument rests on the assertion that intelligence is both inheritable and immutable and is supported by intelligence test scores. The text is full of contradictions and a close analysis proves it to be lacking in evidence and smacking of social myth. Their theories are developed using speculation and are tainted by bias. There is no science involved.

The biological approach in psychology states that behaviour is determined by a genetic component which results in a particular trait or behaviour. A topic area within psychology where this can be investigated is the heritability of IQ, it is suggested that genetic influence is the only factor to consider when investigating IQ, however others have suggested that other factors may play a role in determining IQ.

Intelligence is most important in today's society. Some individuals have high intelligence, some have low intelligence. An appropriate environment plays an important role in the development of a child’s intelligence. Stephen Jay Gould exchanged many views on intelligence in his book The Mismeasure of Man

“The Flynn Effect is the tendency of IQ scores to change over time, and specifically, the apparent increase in intelligence in the general population evidenced by a steady increase in IQ scores. It was first noticed by James Flynn” (The Flynn Effect). As years went by and IQ tests were restandardized, it was noticed that when previous tests were taken the outcomes were better on the previous tests than the tests that were in current circulation. The Flynn Effect has a number of factors that can attribute to the effect taking place. One factor in particular that has been discussed by many different people is the factor of overall better nutrition. Overall better nutrition has occurred in many places over the last 100 years or so. This improvement has been linked to head growth, earlier maturation of children, increased height, and faster growth (Williams). Increased head growth most likely means that human brains are growing which can subsequently be linked to the increased intelligence that is proven by IQ scores. The earlier maturation and faster growth of children can also be linked to how a population’s intelligence improves over many years. The Flynn Effect and nutrition are related through the correlation of increased intelligence and increased overall nutrition.

The Bell Curve, published in 1994 was written by Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray. This book’s purpose was to highlight the statistical differences between races in terms of intelligence

Numerous media associates argued that facts were possibly overlooked and some even related the work to Charles Darwin theory of Darwinism. If fact, connecting it to a survival mode and antiquated theory. Currently, the view on the book today is intelligence with IQ testing does show a difference in intellectual performance. Most of the perversion was driven from the 1960’s era. Essentially, during a time of much racial segregation. Could it be that many social scientists agreed with the book, nevertheless, kept their conviction to

While this assumption is accepted by a majority of geneticists and behavioral scientists, there is great disagreement on the degree of influence each contributes. Arguments for environmental influences are compelling; at the same time there is growing evidence that genetic influence on intelligence is significant and substantial (Eyesenck, 1998; Mackintosh, 1998; Plomin, 1994; Steen, 1996). The purpose of this paper is to explore the question: "How is intelligence influenced by heredity and environment?"

While the study of human genes is increasingly improving our understanding of human development, it is not solely our genetic makeup that determines how we will develop. Humans as a species share many universal traits, which make it easy to disregard the large influence the environment plays in development. Throughout the lifespan, the environment presents itself in many different positions that help determine and shape human development. By looking at the influence of the environment and genetics on human development we are able to create a more holistic view of this process and gain a better understanding of the complexities involved within it. Through this comprehensive lens, it is easy to see how probabilistic human development offers the greatest amount of explanation, unlike the predetermined views of genetic influence in the past, and that environmental influence has an extensive impact on human behavior.