The Role of Genetics and Environment in Determining Intelligence (Essay Sample)

The Role of Genetics and Environment in Determining Intelligence
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Intelligence is the ability to have logic in thinking and acquire knowledge. This means that an individual’s mental ability helps him or her to logically reason or solve difficult problems using creative and critical thinking thus dictating the intelligent quotient (IQ). Human attributes such as intelligence are believed to be inherited. This means that genetics has a paramount role to play in influencing an individual’s intelligence levels. Scientific inquiries and investigations concerning the role of genetics and environment in determining intelligence, have established that heritability provides a process to which genes are passed from parents to offspring. Environmental factors and genetics have therefore been proven to play a crucial role in determining the intelligent quotient of an individual. This paper will aim in discussing the role of genetics and the environment in the determination of an individual’s intelligence.
Offspring inherits certain traits from their parents and this explains why people are often different in terms of cleverness and smartness. Cleverness has also been proven to be inborn. Scientific researches concerning inheritance of the genes have proved that an individual’s IQ is basically influenced some genes that play crucial roles in brain development. Differences in genetic makeup make it possible to distinguish individuality and thus the intelligence levels.[Earl, Hunt. Human Intelligence (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2011), 232.]
Certain environmental factors re-shape an individual’s intelligence. Scientific research has proved that both socio-cultural and biological factors influence the power of thinking as well as reasoning. Minds can be re-shaped differently according to the surrounding environ...