Josh LeVay (blevay@comcast.net)
Monday, April 9, 2012
The Argument
Although Shenk argues that the environment greatly affects intelligence, the IQ Test is still a popular way to show ones intelligence. Even today, people still care about their IQ compared to others because we live in a very competitive society. Although Shenk states, "No one is born with a predetermined amount of intelligence. Intelligence (and IQ scores) can be improved," does his position translate into everyone has the same opportunities from birth? (34). Can you raise to completely unrelated people in the same environment to have the same IQ scores or do genes play a much larger role in intelligence. Relate your answer to ecological concepts such as: associative learning, cognition, classical and operant conditioning, etc. Also, include an explanation on how this relates to the themes of continuity and change or evolution.
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A person’s Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is extremely malleable. The purpose of an IQ test and all standardized testing such as the SAT and ACT is to create a generic way of grading a person based on other individuals across the nation. A person’s score tests his or her intelligence at that given time; however, this intelligence can be changed through many methods. One extremely effective method is the increase of new tasks being attempted. A study conducted at the University of Hamburg put 20 year olds into one month of intense juggling training. Due to this training, there was an “increase in the corresponding gray matter in the brain” visible shortly after training began (http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=5&did=2521877441&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1334105147&clientId=15232). Gray matter is mostly “neurons, cell bodies, dendrites, and unmyelinated axons”(Campbell 1067). Gray matter is important since it is the central part of the brain responsible for memory, senses, and muscle control. The most crucial part of this is the role of gray matter in memory. The new memory that came from being taught how to juggle increased the gray matter of the individuals. This gray matter also directly correlated to an increase in IQ scores of the individuals. Therefore, the structure of the increased gray matter led to an increased functionality on cognitive tests such as IQ tests. Shenk provides another example of gray matter change from experiments conducted on London cab drivers. A study conducted by Eleanor Maguire concluded, in her own words, that “changes in hippocampal gray matter… are acquired”(Shenk 35). These findings also described that this gray matter increased as years of experience increased. This concludes that environmental factors can affect intelligence.
ReplyDeleteThe IQ of a person is a great example of continuity and change. There is so much that an individual can do to change his or her IQ score. Raising children in school is a great example of this. The increased challenges of school cause the IQ scores to increase. According to research by Stephen Ceci, a student’s IQ score increase by several points yearly on average due to an increased education in school (http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=5&did=2521877441&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1334105147&clientId=15232). According to this, it is quite possible for two unrelated individuals to be raised to have very similar, if not equal, IQ scores because school is a major factor of change for intelligence. Thus, IQ follows continuity and change since it is so malleable by environmental inputs.
Part 1
ReplyDeleteThe IQ test is a test that measures one’s intelligence, and this test has been used for a long time. Everyone wants to have the highest IQ so that you can be deemed smart, and there are many factors that affect intelligence like genes and the environment in which you grow up. Shenks defines intelligence as, “not an innate aptitude, hardwired at conception or in the womb, but a collection of developing skills driven by interaction between genes and environment” (Shenk 34). The important part Shenk states is that the environment and genes are what determine your intelligence. The inventor of the IQ test, Alfred Binet states, “[Some] assert that an individual’s intelligence is a fixed quantity which cannot be increased. We must protest and react against this brutal pessimism. “ (Shenk 34). Both Shenk and Binet clarify that intelligence is not a predetermined thing; it is something that you can increase over your lifespan. When Shenk states, “No one is born with a predetermined amount of intelligence. Intelligence can be improved” (Shenk 34), he is not saying that everyone has the same opportunity to from birth. Your assumption is assuming that everyone has the same genes, and that is not true. What is true is that everyone can increase their intelligence, but we must remember that genes and the environment play a role in determining intelligence. The factor that is most important is genes. According to Hsin-Yi Cohen, “it is believed that genetics can account for 75% of your adult intelligence, with the environment being responsible for the remaining 25%” (http://www.aboutintelligence.co.uk/are-born-intelligent-does-develop-socially.html). The way scientists figured that the environment played a role in intelligence is by testing identical twins that lived in different environments. These separated at birth identical twins will have a very similar genetic code, but were raised in different places, so their intelligence was different. What scientists have recently found is that there is no specific “intelligence gene.” According to Hsin-Yi Cohen, “Intelligence is probably the result of the action of numerous genes, and their interaction with environmental stimuli, rather than the product of a specific “intelligence gene”. In fact, many believe that as much as 40% of all genes may contribute to overall intelligence” (http://www.aboutintelligence.co.uk/are-born-intelligent-does-develop-socially.html). Cohen is saying that research has proven that around 40% of all genes contribute to overall intelligence, which shows the importance of genes in determining intelligence. As for the environment’s role in determining intelligence, it is responsible for about a fourth of the intelligence (http://www.aboutintelligence.co.uk/are-born-intelligent-does-develop-socially.html). This is the hypothesis of one scientist, but another scientist named Peter Visscher believes, “genes are responsible for 40 percent of our lifetime intelligence with the other 60 percent being determined by our environment” (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/health/2012-01/21/c_131372356.htm). According to Visscher, parental care during the critical time period is when the intelligence of a kid is affected the most. The simplest things like eating right and nutrition relate to improving one’s intelligence. This is similar to the concepts studied during the Ecology unit.
Krish Desai (kjdesai5@mac.com)
Part 2
ReplyDeleteAnimals, like humans, have genes and have a certain intelligence. Primates, like chimpanzees have the highest intelligence of animals only behind humans. Animals learn from their environment by cognitive maps and operant conditioning instead of from textbooks and schools like humans. The Campbell book states, “In operant conditioning…an animals learns to associate one of its own behaviors with a reward or punishment and then tends to repeat or avoid that behavior” (Campbell 1127). So, animals use their intelligence by associating a certain object to a certain experience and then acting based on how that experience went. As for cognitive maps, Campbell defines it as, “a representation in the nervous system of the spatial relationships between objects in an animal’s surroundings” (Campbell 1127). The experiment by Nikolas Tinbergen states reinforces cognitive maps. Animals move around familiarize them to the land based off the landmarks around them. Operant conditioning along with cognitive maps relate the theme of biology called evolution. Both terms are related to adapting to a change and learning from their previous experiences. Evolution is defined as the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms. Animals are evolving when performing operant conditioning because for example, never again will a coyote try and attack a porcupine; the coyote received punishment, so it has evolved to not attacking porcupines and none of these adaptations and conditionings could’ve be done without intelligence.
Krish Desai (kjdesai5@mac.com)
Part 1
ReplyDeleteAs described by the GxE paradigm, genes and the environment are constantly working with one another to dictate who we are; there is no point in our lives in which these interactions do not occur. According to iqtest.com, IQ tests are used to measure “common sense, practical problem solving ability, verbal ability, and interest in learning” (iqtest.com). Shenk makes the point that “No one is born with a predetermined amount of intelligence” (Shenk 34) as environmental influences begin to act on an individual the second he or she is held by his or her mother in the hospital. This should not discredit the role that genes play in development as well; we are all genetically different from one another to varying degrees. As such, I do not believe that two individuals raised in the same setting can be raised to the same level of intelligence and IQ scores; many little pieces come into play as we grow and develop.
The environment in which one grows plays a strong influence in the ability for an individual to retain information and to develop tools necessary for critical thinking, such as those measured by standardized IQ tests. As children, we tend to emulate our parents and the actions that they perform. While children will provide their own flair to these acquired actions depending on their day-to-day routines, the basics set forth by their parents at critical times in a child’s life are key to future success. Campbell describes the process known as imprinting as “the formation at a specific stage in life of a long-lasting behavioral response to a particular individual or object” (Campbell 1126). At young ages, children will imprint basic actions such as how to walk from point A to point B, or how to respond to basic commands. As a child grows, however, imprinting takes on a more specific form. Children must learn how to think and react quickly to both external problems as well as problems testing mental capability. As such, parents need to set forth positive examples and environments that foster thinking and comprehension through a “lead by example” attitude, thus promoting the biological concept of interdependence in nature. Children who do not see how to deal with a problem will have very little understanding of how to deal with the same or similar problems when they are older. This discrepancy in upbringing cannot be undone once an individual matures. This provides clarification to why certain schools are higher achieving than others; our ability to learn must begin with the positive examples of adults.
Ethan Homedi (ethanhomedi@yahoo.com)
Part 2
ReplyDeleteGene expression allows for a variety of traits to arise in humans (Campbell 351).These genes, passed on by our parents, are highly influential in our ability to retain and access our knowledge. While certain genes may be turned on and off at different points in our lives, the genes themselves are with us from the moment we were just a tiny little zygote. The brain, the central portion of the nervous system, process information and allows us to think and act. Several genes, however, determine the extent to which the brain functions efficiently and quickly. According to a UCLA neurological study, “Intelligence is strongly influenced by the quality of the brain's axons, or wiring that sends signals throughout the brain. The faster the signaling, the faster the brain processes information” (Science Daily). The pattern and coordination of wiring is determined by our genes; by not being a preset programming for all, we will all have different patterns of wiring, some working more efficiently than others. As previously mentioned, genes may be turned on and off with time. Because we have very little, if not any control over what genes are expressed or not, diversity will be seen in brain processing.
The gene and environment interactions associated with IQ tests and intelligence are great examples of continuity and change. The genetic variation seen with the wiring of the human brain is the result of modification of genetic combinations. Through a process known as alternative splicing, variations in the introns and exons of mRNA allow for different amino acid sequences to arise, thus leading to differences in gene expression. Alternative splicing is a random process of which we have no control over and which cannot be reversed. As such, discrepancies are guaranteed to rise in different individuals, leaving this specific factor in our overall knowledge out of our reach.
I agree with Sam’s argument that the amount of grey matter found in a human’s brain may be altered due rigorous practice of a certain skill, and thus an increase in the necessity for memory and recognition of said skill. However, I do notice that he had not mentioned how genetic variation may result in different levels of grey matter in different individuals. Disorders such as bipolar disorder, affect the levels of grey matter in certain lobes of the brain.
I agree with Krish’s statements that both the gene and the environment are influential in the overall intelligence of an individual. The idea that even certain genes work together to impact intelligence, and thus no one gene determines overall intelligence, is a very good point. The study on twins, who share a fair amount of genes with one another, being raised in different environments and thus having different levels of intelligence reinforces both of our points that no two individuals can ever really be raised to the same level of intelligence.
Due to environmental factors, such as imprinting and parental guidance, and genetic variation, I do not believe that we are all given the same opportunity for achievement and success at birth, but the ability to improve our knowledge and success to varying degrees is possible with the proper influences.
(http://www.iqtest.com/whatisaniqscore.html)
(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090317142841.htm)
Ethan Homedi (ethanhomedi@yahoo.com)