Height and intelligence: Difference between revisions
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*[[Environment and intelligence]] |
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*[[Neuroscience and intelligence]] |
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*[[Race and intelligence]] |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Revision as of 00:05, 10 November 2009
It has been claimed that a positive correlation exists between human IQ and height within national populations, based on studies of developing adolescents[1][2][3][4][5] that decreases with age.[6]
There are also some studies on young adults[7] and studies that link the height at eighteen and the scholar performance afterwards[8].
Correlation coefficients of the effect observed in these studies on developing children are typically about 0.2, meaning that variation in height explains about 4% of the variation in IQ.[9][10] A similar correlation coefficient is observed at the extremes of stature.[11]
The correlation between the two factors is therefore weak, although statistically significant, and these studies do not imply that there are no short people who are highly intelligent, or that changes in physical height have a direct effect on cognitive ability.
Indeed, intelligence is believed to be influenced by many different factors, and individuals with a wide range of intelligence can be observed at any given height. Similar strength correlations have been found in early and late childhood in both developed and developing countries, even after controlling for social class and parental education; however, in adults, changes in environment and social status reduce the strength of this correlation.[12]
A recent study by Anne Case and Christina Paxson [13] has attracted media attention[14][15].
Explanations of the correlation
The reasons for the association between height and intelligence remain unclear, but possible explanations include that height may be a marker of nutritional status, prenatal maternal stress, or general mental and physical health during development. As brain size correlates 0.40 with IQ height [16], height/IQ correlation could be merely a side product of taller people having larger heads and thus larger brains. Studies have shown however, that common genetic factors influence variation in both height and intelligence, and are responsible for some of the effect[17], or that both height and intelligence may be affected by adverse early environmental exposures. A large recent twin pair study of the height-intelligence relationship showed that both shared environment (59%) and shared genetics (35%) are responsible for significant portions of the observed correlation between intelligence and height[18].
See also
- Environment and intelligence
- Health and intelligence
- Neuroscience and intelligence
- Race and intelligence
- Sex and intelligence
References
- ^ Wilson DM, Hammer LD, Duncan PM et al. Growth and intellectual development. Pediatrics 1986;78:646–50.Abstract
- ^ Walker SP, Grantham-McGregor SM, Powell CA, Chang SM. Effects of growth restriction in early childhood on growth, IQ, and cognition at age 11 to 12 years and the benefits of nutritional supplementation and psychosocial stimulation. J Pediatr 2000; 137:36–41. Abstract
- ^ Tanner JM. Relation of body size, intelligence test scores and social circumstances. In: Mussen PH, Largen J, Covington M (eds). Trends and Issues in Developmental Psychology. New York: Holt, Rinehard and Winston Inc., 1969.
- ^ Pearce MS, Deary IJ, Young AH, Parker L. Growth in early life and childhood IQ at age 11 years: the Newcastle Thousand Families Study. Int J Epidemiol 2005;34:673–77.Article
- ^ Humphreys, L. G., Davey, T. C., & Park, R. K. (December 1985). "Longitudinal correlation analysis of standing height and intelligence". Child Development 56: 1465–1478.
- ^ Teasdale, T. W., Srensen, T. I. A., & Owen, D. R. (1989). Fall in association of height with intelligence and educational level. British Medical Journal, 298, 1292-1293.Full article
- ^ Tuvemo, T., Jonsson, B., & Persson, I. (1999). Intellectual and physical performance and morbidity in relation to height in a cohort of 18-year-old Swedish conscripts. Hormone Research, 52, 186-191.Abstract
- ^ [1]Patrik Magnusson, Finn Rasmussen et Ulf Gyllensten, International Journal of Epidemiology, 2006
- ^ Humphreys, L. G., Davey, T. C., & Park, R. K. (1985). "Longitudinal correlation analysis of standing height and intelligence". Child Development. 56 (6): 1465–1478. doi:10.2307/1130466.
{{cite journal}}: More than one of|number=and|issue=specified (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Donald B. Egolf and Lloyd E. Corder (1991). "Height differences of low and high job status, female and male corporate employees". Sex Differences. 5–6: 365–373. doi:10.1007/BF00288309.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Teasdale, TW (1991). "Intelligence and educational level in adult males at the extremes of stature". Hum Biol. 63 (1). Wayne State University Press: 19–30.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Teasdale, T. W., Srensen, T. I. A., & Owen, D. R. (1989). Fall in association of height with intelligence and educational level. British Medical Journal, 298, 1292-1293.
- ^ Anne Case and Christina Paxson : Stature and Status: Height, Ability and Labor Market OutcomesArticle
- ^ [2] Success Is Relative, and Height Isn’t Everything, by Stephen S. Hall, New York times, November 28, 2006
- ^ [3] or [4]Taller People Are Smarter, Reuters, August 25, 2006
- ^ http://www.iq-tests.eu/iq-test-Brain-size-and-IQ-510.html
- ^ Silventoinen K., Posthuma D., van Beijsterveldt T., Bartels M. & Boomsma D.I. 2006. Genetic contributions to the association between height and intelligence: evidence from Dutch twin data from childhood to middle age. Genes, Brain and Behavior 8: 585-595
- ^ Sundet JM, Tambs K, Harris JR, Magnus P, Torjussen TM. Resolving the genetic and environmental sources of the correlation between height and intelligence: a study of nearly 2600 Norwegian male twin pairs. Twin Res Hum Genet. 2005 Aug;8(4):307-11
External links
- Short End, by Joel Waldfogel - Slate.com