Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Intelligence and class mobility in the British population.

Daniel Nettle1

  • 1Departments of Psychology and Biological Sciences, The Open University, UK. d.nettle@open.ac.uk

British Journal of Psychology (London, England : 1953)
|December 23, 2003
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Is the association between food insecurity and depression mediated by diet?

Appetite·2026
Same author

Living on the Edge: Investigating Experiences of Poverty Through the Lens of the Desperation Threshold Model.

Human nature (Hawthorne, N.Y.)·2026
Same author

Job loss and mental health: The role of anticipation and re-employment in recovery patterns.

Social science & medicine (1982)·2026
Same author

Explaining the paradoxical effects of poverty on risk taking: The Desperation Threshold Model.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2026
Same author

Estimating the effects of Basic Income schemes on mental and physical health among adults aged 18 and above in the UK: A microsimulation study.

PLOS mental health·2026
Same author

Does food insecurity cause anxiety and depression? Evidence from the changing cost of living study.

PLOS mental health·2026

Intelligence test scores in childhood predict social mobility across all classes. Contrary to some theories, individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds do not need higher intelligence to achieve upward mobility in Britain.

Area of Science:

  • Social Stratification
  • Cognitive Epidemiology
  • Sociology of Education

Background:

  • Intelligence test performance is linked to socio-economic mobility.
  • The role of intelligence in social mobility across different backgrounds requires further investigation.
  • Potential variations in intelligence importance and social friction against mobility are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between childhood intelligence test scores and adult social class mobility.
  • To determine if the association between intelligence and mobility varies across social classes.
  • To investigate whether individuals from underprivileged backgrounds require higher intelligence for upward mobility.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from a longitudinal study of a socially representative British cohort (the NCDS).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analyzed the relationship between childhood intelligence scores and adult socio-economic status.
  • Compared mobility patterns across different social class origins.

    • Main Results:

    • Childhood intelligence scores are uniformly associated with adult class mobility across all social classes.
    • No evidence suggests that individuals from underprivileged backgrounds need disproportionately higher intelligence for upward mobility.
    • The study indicates a high degree of social mobility and meritocracy in contemporary Britain.

    Conclusions:

    • Intelligence is a consistent predictor of social mobility regardless of social origin.
    • Meritocratic principles appear to operate effectively in contemporary British society.
    • Findings challenge notions of significant social friction hindering mobility for disadvantaged groups.