The Origin of Intelligence

Which idea is best supported by both Point and Counterpoint texts?

• A person can, and should, choose how intelligent they become.

• The intelligence of an individual is determined much in the same way as an individual’s height.

• An individual’s intelligence is determined by both their genetics and their environment.

• Siblings raised in different homes with different guardians will develop different IQs.

The Counterpoint author most likely includes the following passage to ___________.

However, studies of adopted children show that adoptees show some similarity in IQ both to their adoptive parents and to other children raised in the same household who are unrelated to them. In fact, a French study showed that transferring babies from impoverished households to wealthy ones improved childhood IQ scores by 12 to 16 points.

• suggest that children who are adopted do not have genetic similarities to the IQ of their adoptive parents.

• say that poor people are often less intelligent than rich people.

• demonstrate that intelligence can be increased or decreased by a child’s home and family.

• prove that IQ doesn’t mean anything because it can be affected by changes in environment

The Counterpoint author believes that the Flynn effect disproves the notion that intelligence is fixed at birth mainly because_____________.

• video games are such a popular form of entertainment

• if the worldwide average IQ increases over time, then IQ can’t be determined genetically

• as our ability to process visual information increases, so do our IQs

• it shows that as time goes by, the world’s intelligence stays the same

Based on the passage below, the Point author most likely believes that______________.

So even though people may say, “Oh, IQ tests are not valid because people have different intelligences and are good at different things,” it seems clear that even if you believe that you are visually intelligent and do best on non-verbal tests, the odds are good that if you do well on those, you will also succeed on other forms of tests. If you take one of the many standard IQ tests, you will find that it includes a variety of types of tests whose scores are put together to make up your IQ score. So not only are you given a test that examines multiple intelligences, but you are also given a test whose various components correlate well.

• IQ test results are not an accurate reflection of one’s intelligence

• Visual intelligence is more common than verbal intelligence.

• IQ tests are easily cheated if you know what to look for.

• IQ tests are a perfectly valid measure of intelligence

Which of the following selections best states a central idea of the Point essay?

• Intelligence is entirely determined by the intelligence of one’s parents.

• Intelligence is determined primarily by how much money one’s family has, and secondarily by how many books are in one’s house during formative years.

• Intelligence is inherited in one’s genetic makeup, and is only slightly affected by one’s environment.

• Because intelligence is fixed at birth, it is dangerous to try to hold unintelligent people to a high standard, as it will discourage them.

Which quote from the Point essay most strongly supports the correct answer to Question 5?

Answer choices for the above question

• “I am the first to admit that genetics is not the whole story—but it is indisputably crucial. It is not a life sentence, but it is a very good predictor.”

• “However, if we choose to ignore the heritability aspect of intelligence, we will simply continue carelessly to pour money into over-educating people who may never accomplish the goals we seek...”

• “Most of the students who perform best in my high school come from families where both parents and children are highly accomplished and obviously intelligent.”

• “It appears from the science that has taken place to date that there is no one set of genes that determines intelligence.”

Which of the following selections best states the central idea of the Counterpoint essay?

• Children from wealthy families have a better chance of fulfilling their intellectual potential because they are given advantages over their poor counterparts.

• Video games are good practice for solving puzzles on an IQ test.

• When your friends or family members have self-defeating attitudes about their own intelligence, it is important to console them.

• Intelligence is affected primarily by one’s environment, rather than being determined solely by genetics.

Which piece of evidence most strongly supports the correct answer to Question 7?

• “... was Einstein born a genius? Considering that Einstein was slow to speak as a child and was thrown out of school at one point, it certainly does not seem that he was.”

• “Research on related children who did not grow up in the same environment shows that while genetics may set the baseline for intelligence, it does not determine potential.”

• “If you assume that the intelligence assigned to you at birth is all you can ever achieve, you are condemning yourself to a life in which your income and happiness are preset as well!”

• “Estimates by scientists who have studied the genetics of intelligence range between 60 and 80 percent for the heritability of intelligence.”