Many human characteristics have an inherited component, skin color, physique, facial features, weight, special talent, but can intelligence also be considered an inherited trait? As numerous studies have clearly shown, heredity and environment are interacting in the development of intelligence. There are some people that are very intelligent, some people less so, but most of us will have a similar level of intellectual potential. This will manifest itself in different ways, as some will develop an interest in music, others in science, and many will not have any specific intellectual interests. As with physical attributes, the extent to which intellectual capacities develop, and in what direction will be greatly influenced by the environment in which parents and peers are a major influence.

I will focus on intelligence quotient (IQ) as an inherited trait and the influence of environmental factors. For over a century, scientists and psychologists have continuously pursued the relative powers of how heredity and environment influences the development of inte

One of the most specific studies to prove the theory that intelligence is hereditary is that of identical and fraternal twins. It was found that the IQ of identical twins that are raised together is very similar to each other. This finding suggests a genetic influence in intelligence. On the other hand, fraternal twins IQ are more similar to each other than those of ordinary siblings. This finding suggests that the environment affects intelligence. Another important study is that of adopted children’s intelligence. The IQ of these children has a small relationship with the IQ of their adoptive parents. In general, the IQ of adopted children is more similar to those of their biological parents vice their adoptive parents. These findings suggest the importance of hereditary factors of the intelligence. It is now generally accepted that individual differences in IQ and information-processing capacity are strongly influenced by hereditary factors, with genetic variance constituting about 70% of the total population variance in IQ (Jensen, 1981). There is also evidence that the genes for superior intelligence tend to dominant, which is what would be theoretically expected if intelligence is a fitness character in the Darwinian sense, and if it had been subject to natural selection through the course of human evolution (Jensen, 1983). Both adoption and twin studies have been used to examine genetic influences on intelligence. Both types of studies have clearly indicated that intelligence is, at least in part, genetically transm

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