Robert Plomin is a big name, and I think I have seen some of those other names with his before. He has a King's College lab in the UK. The Genetics of Specific Cognitive Abilities, from a special issue of the journal Intelligence. Some knowledge of the Cattell-Horn-Carroll Theory of Intelligence will be needed to follow the terminology, even if the concepts are already known to you. It is a hybrid that describes cognitive skills as a hierarchy. The most commonly researched is the most abstract type of intelligence that is closely related to the g-factor. That it is heritable is well-established, though the usual arguments about how much and what the interaction with nurture is remain. The other levels of intelligence usually regarded as less heritable and more responsive to what comes from the environment. To solve a new math problem requires abstract intelligence. To remember mathematical techniques you have been taught is considered more a product of what you have been exposed to.
So this one is interesting, because it finds that the second level of intelligence and abstraction is about equally heritable. Even more surprising, the specific abilities, the least abstract, are similarly heritable. It's one study but it's worth paying attention to. You might go down the rabbit hole with this one, but I think you can pick up a fair bit with one pass.
"The Nature of Nurture" is a fun phrase, anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment