Question

Select two cultural factors (e.g., environment, socioeconomic, biological, and family) that you believe have the greatest influence on intelligence. Explain the factors and your reasoning.

For the two cultures that you researched, explain each culture’s definition of intelligence and identify similarities and differences in how the cultures view intelligence.

Based on what you learned this week, create a personal definition of intelligence that includes your concept of “common knowledge.” Explain the influences that helped you arrive at this definition.

Answer 1

intelligence is the ability to learn from ones experiences, acquire knowledge, and use resources effectively in adapting ton new situations or solving problems. it is a persons ability to use the common knowledge which he has derived from experiences, learning and adaptation. there are 2 main factors which influence intelligence. these are biological factors like heredity as well as environmental factors.

1. influence the heredity- heredity plays an important role in human intelligence. it presents that the closer people are related more similar IQs will be. this view is confirmed. correlation of IQs of twins have been observed to be as high as +9.0, sibblings have +5.0 correlation and cousins have +1.5 correlation. studies on adopted child have also shown the theory is true. IQs of adopted children resemble their biological parents more than the adoptive parents. many genes exert small effects on intelligence. people of high IQs possessed certain genes which were absent in average IQ people. research on identical twins proves this . identical twins were seperated in infant phase and raised in different environment. the IQ was almost similar to the ones who were reared together. genetic factors influence intelligence by 35% in childhood and 75% in adulthood.
2. influence of environmental factors- they are imporatnt for intelligence. performance on IQ test has risen substantially around the world at all ages. this is flynn effect. he reported it first. such increases have averaged 3 IQ points per decade worldwide. in some countries they have been even larger. as a result of these gains it is neccessary to restandardize widely used the tests so that continue to yield an average IQ of 100. possible contributirs are better nutrition, increased urbanisation, advant of television, more and better education, even exposure to computer games, more cognitively demanding jobs. two studies explain this.

• environmental deprivation- findings suggest that intelligence xcan be reduced by the absence of the key forms of environmental stimulation early in life.
• environmental enrichment- findings suggest that removing children from sterile, restricted environments and placing them in more favourable settings seems to enhance their intellectual growth.