There is so much controversy, speculation and expectations around this topic that I would like to know the opinion of experts. Comments on myths about raising intellectuals Nadezhda Zyryanova, Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Psychogenetics, Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov.
Myth one
Intelligence is inherited, and “bad” genes cannot be changed. In fact, a child's intelligence depends on both genes and the environment in which he grows up. This was proven by studies of the intellectual level of identical twins, who, by chance, were separated and raised in different families, in different cultural environments. These twins have the same genotype, but their level of intelligence is different.
It is difficult to determine how intellectually gifted a child is, especially when he is very small, and it is impossible to change the genotype. But it is possible to create a rich environment for the development of all his natural abilities. The importance of the environment is also proven by the following fact: when children whose natural parents were not distinguished by intelligence and abilities were adopted by families that could provide these children with all the conditions for development, the intellectual level of the adopted children increased significantly after communicating with their new intelligent parents.
Our psychologists conducted an interesting experiment. They observed a group of six-year-olds with the same IQ. Some of them stayed for another year in kindergarten, some went to school. A year later, the level of intelligence of those who went to school was higher than the level of intelligence of “kindergarteners.” This is not surprising: the school offers a richer environment for development.
Myth two
The main thing is to give impetus to the development of intelligence at an early age, then everything will go by itself. Not true. In one study, American psychologists selected young children whose mothers had very low intelligence levels and worked on their mental development and preparation for school. Over the course of several years of training, psychologists managed to significantly increase the intelligence of these babies: some IQs increased by 30 points! When they entered school, they were ahead in development of many of their peers. But when the special classes ended, the children returned to the world of their underdeveloped relatives, began to study in regular schools, their intellectual level gradually decreased and became no higher than the average level of their peers.
Americans say about intelligence: “Use it or lose it” - use it, or you will lose it. You need to constantly train your brain.
Myth three
Only communication with adults develops a child. This statement is true for babies. Yes, a child learns to speak and think by communicating with adults. His parents explain to him the meaning of new words, teach him new expressions, and correct him when he pronounces something incorrectly. And babies, left to their own devices, twins, the same age, whom their parents leave for a long time in each other’s company, begin to lag behind their peers in mental development.
But later, in school years, communication with peers is just as necessary as communication with adults. During the presidency of John Kennedy in the United States, a situation arose that scientists did not fail to take advantage of. Kennedy decided to merge schools for black and white children. Before this, the children of white and black Americans studied separately. The white parents of the state of Georgia - descendants of South American planters - were categorically against such an innovation. They stopped sending their children to school, and the schools closed for two years. The children, and they were mostly from quite prosperous, wealthy families, studied with hired teachers at home. When the conflict was settled two years later and the children returned to school, it turned out that their IQ (in the USA the level of intelligence of schoolchildren is constantly measured) was significantly lower than the IQ of children from other states who did not interrupt their studies at school and continued to communicate with their peers. And this backlog was eliminated only after 4 years.
Myth four
To get a smart child, you need to develop his logical thinking. Employees of the Department of Psychogenetics, Faculty of Psychology, Moscow State University, conducted long-term observation of the development of intelligence of a group of people from 6 years of age to 24 years. And we saw that the level of logical thinking was higher among those teenagers and young people who, at the age of 6, were distinguished by rich visual and figurative thinking.
So don’t rush to solve logic problems with preschoolers. Children need to develop fantasy, imagination, imaginative thinking, write more, draw, and play with them. Play is a very important stage in a child’s development. Our famous psychologist, researcher of the world of childhood D. B. Elkonin said: if a child does not play enough in preschool age, this will affect its further development.
Myth fifth
People of different nations differ in intelligence. In the United States, the intelligence of representatives of the white and black races was constantly studied and compared. And it used to always turn out that whites had an average IQ of about 15 points higher. From this they concluded that blacks are a genetically defective race. But more recent research has shown that the cause of differences in IQ levels is not genes, but environment. And 15 points is a typical difference in the level of intelligence of privileged segments of the population and groups with limited rights, regardless of nationality. When the level of intelligence of representatives of black and white groups, equal in position in society, education, income, the number of children in the family, and the spiritual values of their parents, was determined, it turned out that they had the same IQ.
And in Germany, the intelligence of children from mixed marriages and children of ethnic Germans was compared. And also there were no differences in single social groups.
By the way
American scientist J.R. Flynn calculated that during the second half of the twentieth century, the level of intelligence of all inhabitants of the planet increased by about 20 points. We have become smarter. This is explained by the improvement of living conditions, the development of healthcare, changes in the nutritional structure: we began to eat more proteins and vitamins... And our rich information environment: number educated people is increasing, the general awareness of the population is growing.
Our information
Philosophers understand intelligence as the ability to think and rationally understand the world. Psychologists interpret this term more broadly: including not only logical thinking, but also the ability to learn quickly, find a way out of problematic situations, and accumulate practical experience.
Mormon experience. The intellectual level of children from large families also greatly depends on the education and social status of their parents. In educated families where children are taught, the level of intelligence in the first four is no lower than that of their peers from single-child and small-child families. And only the fifth could be worse. Apparently, our parents no longer have enough strength for the fifth. In large families where the parents themselves do not shine with either intelligence or education, a decline in intelligence is already observed in the second child, not to mention all subsequent ones.
However, in large families of Mormons and Quakers, who traditionally are very involved with their children, the intelligence of their heirs does not decrease, regardless of what age they were born.
Eco-friendly parenting. Children: Scientific research suggests that a person's level of intelligence is mainly determined by maternal, rather than paternal genes. This means that in order to give birth to a smart child, there is absolutely no need to “hunt” for Nobel laureates.
Scientific research suggests that a person's intelligence level is mainly determined by maternal rather than paternal genes. This means that in order to give birth to a smart child, there is absolutely no need to “hunt” for Nobel laureates.
Mothers are more likely to inherit genes responsible for mental abilities, since these genes are linked to the X chromosome, which in women is represented in two copies, while in men - in one, writes The Independent.
Moreover, as researchers suggest, based on the latest scientific data, “intelligent” genes received from the father can be automatically deactivated in the offspring.
The fact is that genes responsible for intelligence are part of the category of sex-controlled genes, which behave differently depending on their origin. Some are active only if they are inherited from the father, and some are only active if they are inherited from the mother.
“Intelligent” genes belong to the latter type.
As studies conducted on genetically modified laboratory mice have shown, individuals with an excessive dose of maternal genes grow a large brain, and the body develops poorly. Conversely, mice with an excess of paternal genes grow large bodies but remain small brains.
By studying the distribution of cells containing only maternal and only paternal genes in the brains of mice, scientists found that cells with paternal genes predominate in the ancient limbic system of the brain and are responsible for such basic things as sex, food and aggression. At the same time, not a single “father” cell was found in the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for the most advanced cognitive functions - thinking, speech, memory, planning one’s actions.
The fact that these data are also true for people was confirmed by researchers from the University of Glasgow (UK). Every year since 1994, they tested the mental abilities of almost 13 thousand young people aged 14 to 22 years. The analysis showed that even after taking into account many factors, from the level of education to the socioeconomic status of study participants, the most accurate predictor of their intellectual level was the IQ level of their mothers.
At the same time, science says that mental abilities are determined by heredity by only 40-60%. Everything else is related to the external conditions in which a person grows and develops, but this part of the contribution to the child’s intelligence depends to a huge extent on the mother.
As researchers from the University of Washington (USA) found, it is the close emotional connection between mother and child that is a key factor for the normal development of certain areas of his brain. Scientists analyzed how a group of mothers communicate with their children for seven years after their birth.
It turned out that children who received good emotional and intellectual support from their mothers at age 13 had a 10% larger hippocampus, an area of the brain associated with memory, learning and stress response, than children who were held by their mothers. on distance.
This might interest you:
Lyudmila Petranovskaya: Most theories of education are speculation
12 reminders for parents from Shalva Amonashvili
A strong bond with the mother provides the baby with a sense of security and the opportunity to explore freely. the world, scientists say. Devoted, attentive mothers help their children overcome all difficulties and realize their potential. At the same time, dads don’t need to despair either - they pass on to their children, both with the help of genes and by participating in their upbringing, many other important qualities that help the development of not only intelligence, but also the personality as a whole. published
10:30 14.09.2016
It is generally accepted that both parents participate equally in laying the genetic foundation for a new life. Actually this is not true. There are areas in which the genes of one of the parents are completely or almost completely excluded from the process.
All mothers and fathers want their children to grow up smart and intelligent. If only because such people are more likely to succeed in life and live longer. But as recent research has revealed, the gene for a sharp mind - or the gene for intelligence, which is responsible for the mental development of a child (for its IQ level) - is transmitted only through one line - the maternal line.
Such findings were recently published in the popular specialized journal Psychology Spot. They were made on the basis of research conducted independently by scientists at the University of Manchester, the University of Ulm in Germany and the University of Glasgow.
The latter conducted a large-scale study that involved more than 12 thousand young people and adolescents aged 14 to 24 years. Scientists were interested in questions of heredity and genetic diseases. At the same time, participants took an IQ test.
It turned out that a prediction about a child’s intellectual abilities can be made based on maternal indicators alone. The difference between the IQ level of the child and the mother was on average no more than 15 points.
At the same time, no obvious connection was found between the level of intelligence of the father and the child.
Scientists explain this fact simply. According to them, the so-called The “intelligence gene” is contained in chromosome X. Women have a double set of chromosome X, while in men she is adjacent to a partner named Y. Somehow this Y does everything possible to ensure that the father's intelligence genes are deactivated, connecting with the same genes from the mother.
“This is an interesting phenomenon,” says the report from Scottish scientists. - We are accustomed to believing that the genes of the father and mother participate equally in the creation of new life. But it turns out that there are areas in which maternal genes dominate. Just like there are areas where male genes play the leading role.”
What important conclusion can be drawn from this? If you want to give birth to a smart child, you don't need to look for a Nobel laureate to play the father.- there is no use in this!
Photos in text - DepositPhotos.
Fact
Babies are more likely to look like dads. Nature “conceived” it so that a man would immediately see himself in a child and the paternity instinct would form faster.
For mom or dad?
A child, as a rule, inherits the eye color of the parent whose eyes are darker. For example, a brown-eyed mother and a blue-eyed father, even if the baby is his father’s copy, will most likely have brown eyes.
If one of the parents has curly hair, then the firstborn will most likely have curls too.
Is your first child a boy? Then he will probably look like his mother with the help of genes and chromosomes passed on to the child. The girl looks like her dad. In such cases they say: “He will be happy.”
The baby inherits intelligence and intelligence from his mother. The latter, by the way, is confirmed by science. The fact is that the genes “responsible” for IQ are located on the X chromosomes, of which women have two (XX), and men have one (XY).
A girl born from a genius father has a much greater chance of being known as a smart, reasonable person, but nature will most likely “rest” on the son of a genius personality.
The baby will be fair-headed “like his mother” only if there were blondes among his father’s relatives.
Bad habits are encoded at the genetic level. Alcohol dependence is determined by the gene responsible for the synthesis of the enzyme that breaks down alcohol. If the gene is mutated, then the child of parents who love to drink will develop a tendency toward alcoholism.
Character by inheritance
The fact that character is inherited through genes and chromosomes passed on to the child has not yet been scientifically confirmed. Although the “aggression gene” discovered by scientists several years ago has already given rise to this kind of talk. True, practical experiments have refuted them. And yet, it’s not for nothing that Russian rumors advised, when choosing a wife, to look at your future mother-in-law. How many times have you already said, looking at your daughter: “Well, she’s stubborn - just like her grandfather!” or they noticed in their son: “Oh, his character is his father’s.” Yes, all this can be attributed to the so-called costs of education. The fact that the child unconsciously copies the behavior of his parents, noticing how they behave in a certain situation. Then he repeats the action under similar conditions. Meanwhile, scientists working to decipher the human genetic code have already established that the tendency towards polite or rude behavior is 34% genetically embedded in us. The rest is determined by upbringing and environment. And even our choice of profession is 40% due to a certain combination of chromosomes. At least, leadership qualities in most cases are inherited. Perhaps this is why in Rus' there was a dynastic principle of transferring royal power - from father to son.
“Neither mother nor father...”
Indeed, it happens that a son or daughter is completely different from his parents. They can easily repeat the genotype of some distant relative. Or very distant. Moreover, he has long since left this world.
Being unlike anyone else often worries a father very much. Tell your beloved husband that your child looks like your great-great-grandmother or - and he will calm down for a while.
Also, look at your husband’s childhood photographs and your own and you will see: the appearance of a growing child is constantly changing and in just a year or two, your little one may show many of your traits.
Geneticist and Ph.D. Dean Hamer was the first to declare the existence of a “gay gene” in 1993, and in 2004 he wrote a book about the discovery of the “belief in God gene.”
UK scientists analyzed the character of 609 pairs of twins and it turned out that if the ability to run their own business, sociability and introversion were characteristic of one of the brothers, then they were necessarily present in the character of the other. Even such a habit as the desire to sit for a long time in front of the TV is 45% inherited. And scientists have long and seriously debated about the “genius gene” and the possibility of isolating it, and even introducing it, into the genotype of a particular person. In this case, the subject of dispute is the moral component of the issue, and not scientific hypotheses. As Sherlock Holmes once said, looking at portraits of the Baskerville dynasty: “Don’t believe in the transmigration of souls after this!”
Genetics is one of the most mysterious and interesting sciences. Of course, the child inherits the genes of both parents, but he will take some dominant traits from his father - both good and not so good.
Here are the genetic characteristics that children inherit from their fathers:
1. Heart diseases.
According to research conducted by scientists at the University of Leicester, men who carry a certain type of chromosome are almost 50% more likely to develop diseases affecting the coronary artery (a condition characterized by a decrease in oxygen delivery to the heart). And this feature can be passed on to sons.
2. Mental disorders.
Among the mental disorders that are passed from men to children are schizophrenia and ADHD. As the father ages, the risk increases because a man's DNA mutates over the years.
As for women, they are born with a certain set of eggs, and their DNA does not change throughout their lives.
"Fathers are four times more likely to have new mutations in their DNA because they continue to produce new sperm as they age."
Read also:
3. Crooked teeth.
Men's genes for teeth and jaw shape are stronger than women's. From the father, a child can receive not only crooked teeth, but also thin enamel.
4. Problems with childbearing.
Scientists say low sperm quality may be a genetic problem. If a child was born as a result of IVF, then most likely he will also suffer from infertility.
5. Gender of the child.
A prediction can be made by studying the father's family tree. If the sperm carries an X chromosome, then when combined with the mother's X chromosome, the result will be a girl.
And if the sperm contains a Y chromosome, it’s a boy. The researchers speculate that a yet-to-be-discovered gene is responsible for determining how the X and Y chromosomes are distributed throughout the father's sperm.
6. Child's eye color.
Because male genes are dominant over female genes, facial features and eye color are likely to be the same as the father's.
7. Child's growth.
Height largely depends on paternal genes. Tall fathers have tall children.
What about intelligence?
1. Intelligence is not passed on from father to son. That is, if the father is a genius, then his son will 100% not inherit these genes.
2. Idiocy is not passed on from father to son. If the father is a complete idiot, then his son will not be like that. (here nature acted wisely).
3. Intelligence from the father is genetically transmitted only to the daughter. And that's only half.
4. A man can inherit intelligence only from his mother, which she, in turn, inherited from her father.
5. The daughters of geniuses will be exactly half as smart as their fathers, but their sons will be geniuses. If their father is stupid, then daughters are half as stupid as their fathers.
6. Therefore, there are very few women of genius, as well as 100% idiots. But there are a lot of men who are geniuses and men who are stupid.
Conclusions for men:
1. To predict your son's mental abilities, look at your wife's father (if he is an academician, then your son will also be smart).
2. Your daughter will have half of your mind. But also half of your stupidity. Intellectually, she will be closer to you. Her son will have all your mental faculties. If you want a smart generation, dream of a grandson from your daughter.
3. Your mental abilities come from your mother, or rather from your grandfather.
Conclusions for women:
1. Your son is a copy of your father in intelligence, and scolding him “you are as stupid as your father” is not entirely true. We must say, “you are as stupid as your grandfather” :)
2. Your daughter will be like you in upbringing, but in mind like her father. Her sons will be copies of your husband. That's what it is - genetics! Who are you like?