tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post648798306856592845..comments2024-03-14T09:50:44.315+00:00Comments on Psychological comments: Does culture cultivate, or do you need a good plough?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09320614837348759094noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-75273250997303266172016-09-04T01:45:16.497+01:002016-09-04T01:45:16.497+01:00The Problem is this: If vocabulary is the result (...The Problem is this: If vocabulary is the result (the consequence) of fluid reasoning (the cause), how come individual differences in measures of the consequence are HIGHER heritable than individual differences in measures of the cause? <br /><br />Note: The question addressed in the paper is not 'How come individual differences in vocabulary are highly heritable?'. No, the question is 'How come individual differences in vocabulary are HIGHEST heritable'?<br /><br />Note 2: The explanation can't be 'due to differences in measurement error variance', because those differences were corrected for.<br /><br />Note 3: The explanation can't be 'due to a homogeneous environment'. That would only explain EQUALLY high heritability for the consequence as compared to the heritability of the cause. (unless one important assumption, namely that the cause, g/Gf, is the highest heritable variable, is violated).<br /><br />One possible explanation is that the environmental influences on vocabulary are getting lined up with genotype. In other words, the environmental influences on vocabulary also become heritable. So, whereas the environmental influences on fluid reasoning are relatively independent from fluid reasoning, the environmental influences on vocabulary are not; they will reflect in substantial part these differences in fluid intelligence. If so, the heritable part of the environmental variance adds up to the genetic variance of the underlying cause.<br /><br />So in equations:<br /><br />var(Gf) = var(Gfgenetic) + var(Gfenvironment)<br /><br />var(Voc) = var(Gfgenetic) + var(Gfenvironment) + var(VocEnvironment) <br /><br />= var(Gfgenetic) + var(Gfenvironment) + c*var(Gfgenetic) + d*var(VocResidual)<br /><br />So, note 4: The paper does not provide a cultural explanation; it provides an explanation in terms of 'genetics through environment'. The role of culture is to provide the conditions through which environmental differences are lining up with genotypic differences. We send out smart kids longer to school and to better schools than not so smart kids, so there definitely is G-E covariance. Imagine a society in which kids are placed in schools randomly, so not based on their intelligence, heritability of vocabulary will definitely drop.<br />Or imagine a society in which the not so smart kids are the one that get selected to go the best schools and smart kids leave school sooner. Heritability of vocabulary will definitely drop even more.<br /><br />For the rest, please stop the MCV analyses. The MCV is crap.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15768999138674851285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-78959714158439656052016-01-27T11:00:42.773+00:002016-01-27T11:00:42.773+00:00I don't see why a finding while g mediated the...I don't see why a finding while g mediated the r(CL x h^2), h^2 did not fully mediate the r(CL x g) would go against the Coc G-E interpretation. Apart from the MCV not being a mediation TEST, mediation of h and/or of Cl by g says nothing about the correlation between Cl and g. Second, h is never a mediator; it's a proportion of variance. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15768999138674851285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-35301016377242190302016-01-27T11:00:35.460+00:002016-01-27T11:00:35.460+00:00I don't see why a finding while g mediated the...I don't see why a finding while g mediated the r(CL x h^2), h^2 did not fully mediate the r(CL x g) would go against the Coc G-E interpretation. Apart from the MCV not being a mediation TEST, mediation of h and/or of Cl by g says nothing about the correlation between Cl and g. Second, h is never a mediator; it's a proportion of variance. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15768999138674851285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-70879876046250946682015-10-06T21:38:07.741+01:002015-10-06T21:38:07.741+01:00Thanks for this explanation, and the invitation ex...Thanks for this explanation, and the invitation extended to readers.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09320614837348759094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-31366562860326810382015-10-06T18:07:13.682+01:002015-10-06T18:07:13.682+01:00Let me clarify this last statement. I invited Kees...Let me clarify this last statement. I invited Kees-Jan Kan to use our 46 batteries -- a data set which Meng Hu and I meticulously built for Jan te Nijenhuis -- to try to replicate his analysis. I did not want to do this myself, since I was unsure about my cultural load codings and since I enjoy writing up papers (or blog posts) as much as I do getting my blood drawn. For the heck of it, I had run the analysis based on my codings and found that while g mediated the r(CL x h^2), h^2 did not fully mediate the r(CL x g). This seemed not to support Kan et al. CovGE interpretation, as I understood it. Curiously, I also found, if I recall correctly, that cultural load did not correlate with shared environment, as one might expect. Whatever the case, if anyone cares to replicate and extend the findings, a massive data set is readily available. The original findings might deserve a replication, but it's not a project that would be worth while for me, given my particular circumstances. John Fuersthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608519913410960562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-71723875347397729182015-10-06T05:29:58.285+01:002015-10-06T05:29:58.285+01:00"This paper presents interesting, counter-int..."This paper presents interesting, counter-intuitive findings, which deserve replication on other samples and other psychometric tests." <br /><br />http://humanvarieties.org/2014/05/15/research-on-genetic-g-and-differential-heritabilities/comment-page-1/#comment-3106 <br /><br />Personally, I don't fee that the idea is worth the hassle of a write up. John Fuersthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608519913410960562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-61718315823880143952015-10-05T22:56:21.014+01:002015-10-05T22:56:21.014+01:00"culture has always been led by the smart fra..."culture has always been led by the smart fraction": maybe. But one of the Roman writers pointed out that when the Germans invaded Gaul, the leading Germans adopted much of Roman culture, and the poor Gauls adopted much of German culture.<br /><br />deariemenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-40488669209826738532015-10-05T16:03:14.716+01:002015-10-05T16:03:14.716+01:00Yes, of course that's possible. However, hasn...Yes, of course that's possible. However, hasn't speed of learning new things generally been show to correlate with intelligence? As we're considering early elementary schooling, the "more advanced" words aren't that much more advanced.<br /><br />It is possible, of course, that teachers tend to focus instruction on the children who need to catch up, rather than the students who are already ahead. Although that would also emphasize that vocabulary is taught and learned, not an automatic birthright.<br /><br />Our children heard two languages in infancy. I noticed that they seemed to learn the word for an item or concept in both languages simultaneously. However, they didn't seem to tie either word to its pair in the other language; they associated both words with the underlying concept. So, for example, the sight of a chair (or the action of sitting) could elicit the words in either languages, but the word "chair" did not pull up the foreign language equivalent at the same early stage. For my children at least, there was an ideal, Platonic chair, which precedes vocabulary.East Coastnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-73735730716401843542015-10-05T12:49:53.224+01:002015-10-05T12:49:53.224+01:00Do animals would know estimate the intelligence of...Do animals would know estimate the intelligence of human beings **<br />Pretty stupid question a priori, but who knows ... it never hurts to ask.Santocultonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-39533472135198106432015-10-04T20:00:24.824+01:002015-10-04T20:00:24.824+01:00Dear Steve, Thanks for your interesting comments. ...Dear Steve, Thanks for your interesting comments. I think that Heiner Rindermann and I would argue that culture has always been led by the smart fraction, and silicon valley had a very smart fraction, leading to the creation of tools which were very smart. The total power of our culture has increased through computation. Paradoxically, this has made life easier for the average person. They can now control a complicated device just by pointing their finger at a pictogram. Smartphones help the least smart most, because they use intuitive pointing, and not the high demand of computer programming. Were IQ test ahead of their time in being like dealing with electronic intelligence? Most of them were not, but I am still thinking through the main thrust of your suggestion.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09320614837348759094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-24277851182164821902015-10-04T15:19:15.634+01:002015-10-04T15:19:15.634+01:00He who lives in a house of glass... should cut out...He who lives in a house of glass... should cut out on the snide. Teodor Fersetahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00660892171899675777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-5581949236448641912015-10-04T15:12:09.072+01:002015-10-04T15:12:09.072+01:00Good joke!!! :)
Good joke!!! :)<br />Santocultonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-13296802826792508022015-10-04T14:30:14.409+01:002015-10-04T14:30:14.409+01:00More likely they appeared as a measure against loa...More likely they appeared as a measure against loading the text with attributes and adjectives. Teodor Fersetahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00660892171899675777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-69753451668574516092015-10-04T14:23:56.654+01:002015-10-04T14:23:56.654+01:00"but if the children from less advantaged bac...<br />"but if the children from less advantaged backgrounds learn new words at a faster rate, once they reach school, it seems odd that the children from more advantaged backgrounds would seem to learn more slowly, if they were more intelligent?"<br /><br />Low hanging fruit seems a possibility. Teodor Fersetahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00660892171899675777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-27904722354699264072015-10-03T08:19:34.623+01:002015-10-03T08:19:34.623+01:00My idea is that IQ tests were ahead of their time ...My idea is that IQ tests were ahead of their time in being much like dealing with electronic intelligence. <br /><br />I realize I haven't spelled my theory of the Flynn Effect out very well, but when I look at the output of Silicon Valley, say, as representative of the way global culture has been trending, it strikes me as not coincidental that the two individuals most often called the Father of Silicon Valley -- William Shockley and Fred Terman of Stanford -- were friends, and that Terman's father, Louis Terman, was the father of IQ testing in America. Steve Sailerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920109042402850214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-73733991206557923712015-10-03T08:13:37.024+01:002015-10-03T08:13:37.024+01:00My impression is that a sizable part of the Flynn ...My impression is that a sizable part of the Flynn Effect is due to cultural differences that exist over time rather than space. The whole world is changing culturally, and global culture is becoming more like what IQ tests were like.Steve Sailerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920109042402850214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-48066320527595964312015-10-03T08:10:19.666+01:002015-10-03T08:10:19.666+01:00The culturally loaded tests have higher heritabili...The culturally loaded tests have higher heritabilities.<br /><br />They also seem to have some of the lower Flynn Effects as well. According to Flynn's 2007 book, the lowest Flynn Effects were seen on Information, Arithmetic, Vocabulary, and Comprehension, which are four of the five most culturally loaded subtests:<br /><br />http://www.vdare.com/articles/flynn-flips-iq-tests-do-matterSteve Sailerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920109042402850214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-3365643367026242362015-10-02T20:54:27.696+01:002015-10-02T20:54:27.696+01:00I think that adoption shows little effect on langu...I think that adoption shows little effect on language development. http://drjamesthompson.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/adopt-child-but-discard-illusion.htmlAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09320614837348759094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-17698892505424021002015-10-02T20:19:41.024+01:002015-10-02T20:19:41.024+01:00Difficult words were invented for avoid ''...Difficult words were invented for avoid ''repetitions'' of common words, ;)<br /><br />Language is quasi-always about the beauty of their sounds and not exactly by its efficiency.<br /><br />Verbally smart people hate when they repeat a lot some common words.Santocultonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-73213024795913207572015-10-02T18:54:45.867+01:002015-10-02T18:54:45.867+01:00''Accompanies'' or (better) follow...''Accompanies'' or (better) follow, ;)Santocultonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-29339479124085534262015-10-02T16:29:12.076+01:002015-10-02T16:29:12.076+01:00Language is fluid and convenient because it accomp...Language is fluid and convenient because it accompanies the ephemeral emergence (or not) of our ideas and thoughts. We all have our favorite words long or short term.<br /><br />Words that are moderately hard (which tend to be synthesized) are more efficient to make a clear and understandable or didatic communication.<br /><br />Exposure won't enough without having mutual interest / curiosity for the occurrence of internalizing and learning.<br /><br />It would be better if we measured the conceptual knowledge of persons in respect of abstract words that most use in their daily lives.Santocultonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-9741065098426429372015-10-02T11:58:46.724+01:002015-10-02T11:58:46.724+01:00Dear Sir: I am not the researcher who wrote the p...Dear Sir: I am not the researcher who wrote the piece on teaching Vocabulary; I had intended the italics to signify a quote from the piece. <br /><br />Comprehension is driven by intelligence, I would agree, but if the children from less advantaged backgrounds learn new words at a faster rate, once they reach school, it seems odd that the children from more advantaged backgrounds would seem to learn more slowly, if they were more intelligent? Logically, if I have not been exposed to a word, I cannot learn it. <br /><br />In the issue of adoption studies, presumably of identical twins, I think it unusual these days for twins to be deposited in families of greatly differing SES. Indeed, the adoption agencies in this country seem very stringent about placing infants in functioning families. East Coastnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-81632053732188999942015-10-01T21:49:34.316+01:002015-10-01T21:49:34.316+01:00In fact, I covered the paper here:
http://drjamest...In fact, I covered the paper here:<br />http://drjamesthompson.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/educated-parents-more-important-than.html<br /><br />You will see that Rindermann (as you do) stresses "educational behaviour" but of course cannot exclude genetic effects in a biological parents teach biological children model.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09320614837348759094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-50192488907355555792015-10-01T21:41:15.026+01:002015-10-01T21:41:15.026+01:00Thank you for your link on teaching Vocabulary, wh...Thank you for your link on teaching Vocabulary, which I have read with interest. I would like you to send me your paper, in press, when it is available. I agree that we ought to teach Vocabulary and read to our children, but I don't think that differences in children's vocabularies are usually primarily due to mothers speech and parental reading, so long as children have general access to language in society.<br />I presume you have read my posts on vocabulary. These make points slightly different from yours, I think. That is, other than in severely deprived children, I think comprehension is largely driven by intelligence.<br />On the Hart and Risley (1995) study, I wonder if you have seen Heiner Rindermann's paper<br />Rindermann, H. & Baumeister, A. E. E. (2015). Parents’ SES vs. parental educational behavior and children’s development: A reanalysis of the Hart and Risley study. Learning and Individual Differences, 37, 133-138. (-PDF- password-protected)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09320614837348759094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624586630299165335.post-32952453192296680042015-10-01T21:22:39.161+01:002015-10-01T21:22:39.161+01:00How in the world do you separate "heritabilit...How in the world do you separate "heritability" in a biological sense from "heritability" of knowledge taught directly or indirectly from the biological parents? <br />Adoption studies.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09320614837348759094noreply@blogger.com