학술논문
A Twin Study of the Genetics of High Cognitive Ability Selected from 11,000 Twin Pairs in Six Studies from Four Countries.
Document Type
Article
Author
Haworth, Claire M. A.; Wright, Margaret J.; Martin, Nicolas W.; Martin, Nicholas G.; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Bartels, Meike; Posthuma, Danielle; Davis, Oliver S. P.; Brant, Angela M.; Corley, Robin P.; Hewitt, John K.; Iacono, William G.; McGue, Matthew; Thompson, Lee A.; Hart, Sara A.; Petrill, Stephen A.; Lubinski, David; Plomin, Robert
Source
Subject
*COGNITIVE ability
*INTELLIGENCE levels
*TWIN psychology
*ABILITY
*BEHAVIOR genetics
*HUMAN genetic variation
*PSYCHOMETRICS
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Language
ISSN
0001-8244
Abstract
Although much genetic research has addressed normal variation in intelligence, little is known about the etiology of high cognitive abilities. Using data from 11,000 twin pairs (age range = 6–71 years) from the genetics of high cognitive abilities consortium, we investigated the genetic and environmental etiologies of high general cognitive ability ( g). Age-appropriate psychometric cognitive tests were administered to the twins and used to create g scores standardized within each study. Liability-threshold model fitting was used to estimate genetic and environmental parameters for the top 15% of the distribution of g. Genetic influence for high g was substantial (0.50, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.41–0.60). Shared environmental influences were moderate (0.28, 0.19–0.37). We conclude that genetic variation contributes substantially to high g in Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]