环境与IQ
环境与
IQ
导语
每个人都生活在环境中，既改变着环境，又被环境所塑造。你是否想过环境与智商也有关系呢？智商到底是什么？遗传因素有多大的影响？智商可以改变吗？什么样的环境有利于智力发展？而什么样的环境会危害智商? 我们邀请到了来自昆山杜克大学环境政策部门和环境研究中心的John Ji教授来我们解答。
John Ji 博士
昆山杜克大学环境政策硕士项目副主任、环境健康科学助理教授
专注环境健康学、环境人口健康科学，流行病学，职业健康，能源和环境的研究
Q1
What is intelligence? 什么是智商？
John:
Intelligence is defined a mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. Everyone has these abilities, and there are variations of “street smart” or “book smart.” Psychologists categorize intelligence into several types: analytical intelligence, creative intelligence, practical intelligence, emotional intelligence, fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence.
智力是一种精神特性，包括学习经验的能力、解决问题的能力和应用既有知识去适应新环境的能力。每个人都有这些能力，但是具体来看还存在着“街头智慧”或“书本智慧”的差异。 心理学家将智力分为以下几种类型：分析性智力，创造性智力，实用智能，情商，流体智力和结晶智慧。
Q2
Is intelligence inherited or determined by environment? 智力是由遗传因素还是环境因素决定的？
John:
The answer is both genetics and environment affect intelligence. IQ score is often used to measure intelligence, but it only measures one type of intelligence. The best data to answer this question comes from using twin studies, because monozygotic twins share 100% of their DNA, we can pick out the effect of environment vs. genetic. These studies show that genetics play a large part of correlation of IQ; the more closely two individuals are related genetically, the more their IQ scores, even if reared apart.
答案是基因和环境都对智力有影响。智商测试得分经常被用来衡量智力，但是它只能够测定一种类型的智力。如下图所示，基于双胞胎的研究能够很好地说明这个问题，因为同卵双胞胎的基因几乎完全相同，所以我们能够对比环境和基因各自的影响。研究表明，遗传对于智力有着决定性的作用，两个人在基因上的联系越紧密，即使是成长在不同的环境中，他们的智商得分也会越相关。
Thomas Bouchard & the Minnesota Twins studies
An analogy to this is within group variation and between group variation, seen below. Genetically diverse seeds reach different heights depending on how fertile the soil is. Within each field, the difference is due to genetics, and between each field, the difference is due to environment.
如下图所示，一个类比能够形象地说明在不同群体之间的差异和在同一群体之间的差异的问题。由于土壤的肥沃程度的差异，不同基因的种子能够长到不同的高度。在同一试验田中的植株高度差异是由基因导致的，在不同的试验田中差异则是由环境决定的。
Q3
What environmental factors improve intelligence? 什么样的环境因素会提升智力?
John:
Education is the by far the way to improve IQ scores. But this may also be a chicken or the egg question. Education affects intelligence. However, it may be both a dependent and independent variable about IQ. Second is environmental enrichment. More stimulating environments can increase the number of synapses in the brain, and lack of stimulation can lead to cognitive impairment. For example, music can make significant differences in gray matter volume in motor, auditory and visual-spatial regions of the brain. Nutrition, especially in utero and early in life, has been shown to affect organizational processes of the brain such as neurogenesis, synaptic pruning, cell migration and cellular differentiation. What is also interesting here is that there are critical periods of learning. As you can see in the figure below, our neuronal connections are denser in childhood, allowing faster learning of language, fine motor skills, and short-memories, etc.
到目前为止教育是一个很好的提高智商测试得分的方式。然而这也是一个先有鸡还是先有蛋的问题。教育影响智力，但是它既是一个独立变量又同时是一个非独立变量。其次是环境的丰富程度。刺激性的环境可以增加大脑中神经元突触的数量，而缺乏刺激可能会导致认知障碍。比若说音乐可以显著增加大脑中运动、听觉和视觉区域灰质的量。营养，尤其是在子宫内和生命早期的营养，已被证明会影响大脑的组织过程，如神经发生，突触修剪，细胞迁移和细胞分化。 还有一个有趣的点是关键学习阶段问题。 正如您在下图中看到的，神经联系在儿童时期更密集，这让孩子能够更快地学习语言、精细的运动技能和短期记忆的能力等等。
Q4
What is detrimental to intelligence? 什么会危害智商？
John:
Stress during early childhood may affect the child's development and have negative consequences on neural systems underlying fluid intelligence. Chemicals are also detrimental to intelligence. Heavy metals, including lead and mercury, are neurotoxicant. Alcohol will cause fetal alcohol syndrome. Prenatal exposure to aspirin and antibiotics is correlated with lower performance on intelligence tests as well. Other factors like tobacco smoking and pesticide are also detrimental to intelligence. Similar to critical periods of learning, there are also critical periods when people are especially vulnerable to environmental pollution. In the figure below, taken from the recently published The Lancet Commission of Pollution, exposure to pollution early in childhood leads to very high levels of morbidity throughout life. We only have one chance to achieve our highest potential, so a clean environment is essential.
幼儿期的压力可能会影响孩子的发育，并对流体智力下的神经系统产生负面影响。化学品对智力也有着不利影响。重金属，包括铅和汞，都是神经毒素。酒精会导致胎儿酒精综合征。产前暴露于阿司匹林和抗生素也会导致孩子在智商测试中的表现不佳。其他因素如吸烟和杀虫剂对智商也是有害的。与关键学习阶段类似，在人们的成长历程中也存在着特别容易受到环境污染的影响阶段。下图来自柳叶刀污染委员会，童年暴露在污染环境下会导致人们一生中各种疾病非常高的发病率。我们只有一个机会去实现我们的最高潜能，清洁的环境必不可少。
结语
Intelligence refers to intellectual functioning. Intelligence quotients, or IQ tests, compare your performance with other people your age who take the same test. These tests don’t measure all kinds of intelligence, however. For example, such tests can’t identify differences in social intelligence, the expertise people bring to their interactions with others. There are also generational differences in the population as a whole. Better nutrition, more education and other factors have resulted in IQ improvements for each generation.
American Psychological Association, Adapted from the Encyclopedia of Psychology
智力是指智力活动。 智商，或者说是智商测试则只是一项将你的表现与你年龄相同的的其他人进行比较的测试。然而这些测试并不能测量各种智能。例如，这样的测试不能识别社交智能和人们与他人互动的技能的差异。对于整个人群来说，代际差异同样存在。营养水平和教育水平的提高，以及其他因素的提升都会引致每一代人智商水平的提升。
——美国心理学会，改编自心理学百科全书
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