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The biology of intelligence?

N J Mackintosh

    British Journal of Psychology (London, England : 1953)
    |February 1, 1986
    PubMed
    Summary

    Genetic factors may influence intelligence, but evidence for group IQ differences being genetic is weak. Social circumstances, not genetics, correlate with IQ variations between ethnic groups.

    Area of Science:

    • Psychology
    • Genetics
    • Neuroscience

    Background:

    • Beliefs persist that intelligence quotient (IQ) is primarily genetic and that group differences stem from genetic disparities.
    • IQ is often presumed to reflect fundamental brain properties like neural efficiency, measurable via evoked potentials or simple task performance.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To evaluate the evidence for genetic determination of IQ and group differences.
    • To assess the validity of physiological and behavioral correlates of IQ.

    Main Methods:

    • Review of existing literature on IQ heritability and group differences.
    • Analysis of studies correlating IQ with evoked potentials and timed performance measures.

    Main Results:

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  • Limited evidence supports genetic origins for average IQ differences between ethnic groups; social factors show stronger correlations.
  • Replication issues plague studies on evoked potentials and IQ.
  • High correlations with timed performance are often unsubstantiated; moderate correlations (0.20-0.40) exist but lack clear interpretation, possibly relating to attention.

    • Conclusions:

    • While IQ may have a heritable component, genetic explanations for group differences lack robust support.
    • Physiological and simple behavioral correlates of IQ have yielded modest and often unreproducible results.
    • More complex cognitive tasks may be necessary to find stronger correlations with IQ.