Intelligence - Environmental And Genetic Influences On Intelligence

Typically, the way a child thinks and solves problems stays the same from age six on. After beginning school, a child's ability to think appears to develop at a normal rate through grade levels that match the child's age. If a child is given problem-solving tasks, then the child will learn how to solve problems and vice versa. Fortunately, children who are not given the chance to learn how to think about problems before attending school will ultimately catch up. Because of this, psychologists are careful when interpreting low intelligence scores in children younger than age six. This also means that while low intelligence cannot be cured, it can be changed. In fact, educational programs are specifically planned to improve environments in order to increase educational and life skills.

In addition to a child's environment, the intelligence of the child's parents has some influence on the amount of intelligence the child is born with. Questions about the influence of genetics are explained by looking at characteristics children inherit from parents. While studying twins, some scientists have shown that intelligence is largely inherited. Researchers also found that the higher the parents' IQs, the higher their child's IQ tended to be. At the same time, there was less consistency between the IQs of adoptive parents and their adoptive children. Many other factors are related to the development of intelligence. These include parent education, family financial status, family size, and early schooling. Parents who provide a rich learning environment and foster good learning behaviors will have children with better than average IQ scores, barring any medical causes of mental retardation.