Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Genes don't just influence your IQ—they determine how well you do in school


A research was done with more than 6000 pairs of twins found that academic achievement is influenced by genes affecting motivation, personality, confidence, and dozens of other traits. The researchers have also shown that a person's IQ is highly influenced by genetic factors. They identified about 20 genetic variants associated with intelligence, each accounts for just 1% of the variation in IQ scores. The genetic variants associated with head size and the volume of the hippocampus is important for learning and memorizing. However, it is been unclear whether the same genes that influence IQ also influence grades and test scores. Thus, by doing researches with twins, whom share the identical genome with each other concluded that there is a genetic basis for the differences in how easy or enjoyable children find learning, rather than their actual IQ. In my opinion, this research is fascinating, due to the result of it is so different from what the society expectation and from what I known. I thought intelligence is always correlated with how much neurons one have or their ability to learned and memorized fast. However, this study proved otherwise, it is due to their genetic variants regarding about the personality which corresponding to the feeling of enjoy the subjects that one are learning.
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2 comments:

  1. This article is extremely interesting because like you, I was under the impression that how smart you are depends on how many connections your neurons have made! But after reading this it makes complete sense that the genetic variants that affect motivation and confidence play a part. After all, if I'm not motivated how much attention am i really paying?

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  2. It is really interesting that the article links academic achievement to personality, confidence, and motivation because although I always thought that academic achievement was strongly influenced by genetics I would never have guessed that those genetic traits would be the influencers. Throughout my life I have come across many people who are as smart as can be but lack confidence and a strong personality. But after reading this I agree that with motivation and confidence academic achievement are sure to come!

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