Intelligence and the environment Flashcards
(23 cards)
current biology - global determinants of navigation ability
designed a spatial ability game
tested more than 2.5 million people from every country in the world
found spatial ability of the pop of a country is correlated with economic wealth
what did current biology find about sex
gender equality of a country is predictive of gender differences in navigation ability
whta may be a prediction of navigation ability
entropy of a city street networks linked to future spatial navigaton ability
people were better at navigating in environments that were similar to where they grew up
what does the navigation task suggest about ability
the effect of the environment on human cognition happens on a global scale
why may a first born advantage occur
as parents move from parenting one child to multiple, systematic shifts in parental behaviour and the home environment
what was the national longitudinal survey of youth
a nationally representative sample of 12,686 American youths born between 1957-64. They were first interviewed in 1979 (aged 14-22 years)’
use of periodic surveys
what types of scores were used
cog and non-cog assesments
prenatal investments
birth outcomes
early childhood investments
home environment
findings for later born children
not born disadvantaged
but parents are unable to provide them with the same level of cognitive support as with the first born
results of cognitive tests on later born children
as early as 1 later born children score lower on cognitive tests than their siblings
increases until school entry and remains significant after
what may explain cognitive differences
Variations in parental behaviour, such as cognitive stimulation by mothers
is there a link between breast feeding and cognition
most demonstrate a link between breastfeeding and cog development
children breastfed for less than 3 months had an increased risk compared to at least 6 months
Deoni et al findings of breastfeeding
Looked at breastfeeding duration and myelin content (n=143).
Extended breastfeeding (>15 months) was positively associated with greater myelination in somatosensory, auditory and language areas.
Victora et al long term breast feeding
investigated long term consequences on IQ, years of schooling and income at age 30
results of Victora et al long term breastfeeding
a dose-response association between breatfeeding duration for IQ and educational attainment
higher monthly incomes than those breastfed for less than a month
how may early life health effect IQ
VLBW children have lower cognitive and educational outcomes
how may general anaestesia be related
some human studies find no detectable adverse reactions
very small effect of slightly lower IQ scores
main findings of chemotherapy on IQ
affects verbal and visual memory when treated 5 years and younger
some studies with no major cognitive imapirments
(some adverse neurocognitive effeccts)
what is the flynn effect
IQ scores have risen by about 3 points per decade on average in many parts of the world.
possible effects of the flynn effect
improvements in education
better nutrition
smaller families
more cognitively demanding environments
why may the flynn effect be related to culture
stepper gains in IQ evidence in developing countries
higher IQ originally in developed countries
what is the anti-flynn effect
early, large gains are not evident at the more recent time points
evidence of a decline in IQ across latter generations
relationship of IQ and height
has been found in Norwegian studies close mirroring between changes in general ability scores and changes in height
how did Brasberg and Rogeburg disprove the dysgenic fertility and compositional changes hypothesis
within-family variation fully recoverec both timing and the magnitude increase and decrease of the Flynn effect
