Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Using Cholesky Decomposition to Explore Individual Differences in Longitudinal Relations between Reading Skills
Published on: September 17, 2019
Shared-environmental contributions to high cognitive ability
Robert M Kirkpatrick1, Matt McGue, William G Iacono
1Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. kirk0191@umn.edu
Abstract:
Using a combined sample of adolescent twins, biological siblings, and adoptive siblings, we estimated and compared the differential shared-environmentality for high cognitive ability and the shared-environmental variance for the full range of ability during adolescence. Estimates obtained via multiple methods were in the neighborhood of 0.20, and suggest a modest effect of the shared environment on both high and full-range ability. We then examined the association of ability with three measures of the family environment in a subsample of adoptive siblings: parental occupational status, parental education, and disruptive life events. Only parental education showed significant (albeit modest) association with ability in both the biological and adoptive samples. We discuss these results in terms of the need for cognitive-development research to combine genetically sensitive designs and modern statistical methods with broad, thorough environmental measurement.
More Related Videos
09:38Generalized Psychophysiological Interaction (PPI) Analysis of Memory Related Connectivity in Individuals at Genetic Risk for Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: November 14, 2017
06:50The Use of the Puzzle Box as a Means of Assessing the Efficacy of Environmental Enrichment
Published on: December 29, 2014
Related Concept Videos
Biological Influences on Intelligence
Environmental Influences on Intelligence
Information Processing Approach
Gene-Environment Interactions
Language and Cognition
Human Genetics
The complex relationship between genetics and psychology is observable through common biological components such...