Quote:
Originally posted by mick
...In a choice between environmental or genetic, I would side with environment, and I am sure that competitiveness can be learned.
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mick
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Although not directly relevant to this particular topic one of my lecturers once made the following comment when discussing the nature/nurture debate. He believed that nature (genetics) determines the upper limit of your ability and that nurture (especially nutrition) determine how close to that limit you get.
Perhaps the best example is how fast you can run the 100m sprint. A friend of mine was an exceptionally fast runner, and became a pro sprinter. After 4 years in Australia's elite training program, his best time was still just outside Olympic qualifying times (around 10:30). Although he had everything going for him from the nurture perspective, his nature still prevented him from breaking that 10:30 barrier.
The same arguement can be made for an individual's IQ - although intelligent is inherited, without the neccessary environment, that intelligence will never be realised. Likewise, regardless of how much you study, there is little that can be done to increase your IQ.
**Disclaimer - I (like many more qualified psychologists) consider IQ testing to be inadequate at judging individuals actual intelligence as it doesn't measure anything besides numerical, spacial and verbal intelligence - but that is a whole different topic!**