“Every time you add a child, you’re diluting the intellectual environment of everyone in the family."
That statement was made by an expert regarding the IQs of older and younger siblings in families. If he is right, only stupid people have lots of children and everyone in the family gets exponentially dumber with each additional child.
What do you think about this?
2007-06-24 09:13:53 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Social Science ➔ Psychology
More children means more responsiblity and less spare time for other things. So finding time to enrish knowledge is tough.
2007-06-24 09:19:07 · answer #1 · answered by SAVISIVA 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Each time a couple has a child the resources they can invest in each individual child (time, money, instruction, love, etc.) significantly decreases.
The actual act of having more children does not make the latter born less intelligent by default (they likely have the same intelligence potential as well as "ceiling" on IQ) rather, greater numbers of children lower the amount of outside intellectual stimulation that they can receive and maximize their inherent potential.
Intelligence is really both nature and nurture. By way of genetics and nature, each child is predisposed to have a certain IQ range.
The environment they are raised in (i.e. nurture) helps determine to what extent they will maximize their endowed potential.
The first born usually receives the greatest amount of praise, criticism, expectation and many other resources rather than a 6th born so it would come as no shock that the1st born in a family may turn out to be more intelligent then the last to be born.
2007-06-24 16:36:23 · answer #2 · answered by BJ 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not all that long ago people were expected to have as many children as possible. Most employment was out of the home. Wheather it was farming, goat herding or pottery the more children you had the more cheap labor you had. People didn't travel to work so day care wasn't even an issue.
The more technically capable people became in travel and centralized employment, i.e. factories and such, the less larger families became necessary or even favorable.
When you spread the emotional and educational resources of even two devoted parents across 10 children it seems pretty obvious that there will be some parental shortcomings.
It may be that rather than less educated peoples having larger population problems instead larger population problems create less educated people. Catch 22.
I could be wrong though. I have been drinkin'.
2007-06-24 16:31:23 · answer #3 · answered by katz149 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think hes right!!! my younger brothers and sisters were idiots!!!
2007-06-24 16:26:34 · answer #4 · answered by jeff g 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pure crap.
2007-06-24 16:35:53 · answer #5 · answered by Ozzy L 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋