Science Says The First Born Child Is The Most Intelligent
Your oldest child really has the potential to become the next Einstein!
A new study carried out by Leipzig University suggests that the IQ of first-borns increases because they have to teach their younger siblings how things work. The fact that first-borns have their parents’ attention all to themselves also boosts their IQ.
It is said that the variations in intelligence are a result of how a child is raised and nurtured, not of biology
The study evaluates a 1.5 IQ drop per sibling. In families with two children, however, the first-born isn’t necessarily the most intelligent since they only have a 60% chance of having a higher IQ. In this equation, there is still a good chance that the younger sibling will surpass them later on life.
Apart from boosted intelligence, first-born children also show a heightened perception of their brain capabilities. The data for this study was accumulated from personality and IQ tests from three different national studies, one of which was carried out in the UK and involved more than 20,000 participants.
“One theory is that following children “dilute” the resources of their parents.”, Dr. Julia Rohrer told the Daily Mail.
“While the firstborn gets full parental attention, at least for some months or years, late-borns will have to share from the beginning.”
“Another possible factor is described by the tutoring hypothesis: A firstborn can “tutor” their younger siblings, explaining to them how the world works and so on.”
“Teaching other people has high cognitive demands – the children need to recall their own knowledge, structure it and think of a good way to explain it to younger siblings, which could provide a boost to intelligence for some firstborns.”
Is this IQ difference innate, or developed?
As you may have already heard, most of our intelligence is developed. In fact, only around 40% of our intelligence is genetically conditioned. The rest needs to be built through the environment. The IQ differences between the children comes as a result of environment, not genes.
The first reason first-borns can have a higher IQ may be due to the fact that these children get undivided attention for at least some months or years – something late-borns will have to share from the beginning.
The parents’ expectations from their first child are often higher compared to the other children, and as you know,higher expectations contribute to higher IQ in the long run.
Because of this, first-born children also find themselves often looking after their younger siblings. They are often designated the role of teaching their younger brothers and sisters what has been taught to them.
This responsibility has the greatest effect on the IQ boost first-borns get. Perhaps those 40% who didn’t have a higher IQ in the study were not given such responsibilities by their parents.
Is this the case with you and your siblings?
Source: apost.com
A new study carried out by Leipzig University suggests that the IQ of first-borns increases because they have to teach their younger siblings how things work. The fact that first-borns have their parents’ attention all to themselves also boosts their IQ.
It is said that the variations in intelligence are a result of how a child is raised and nurtured, not of biology
The study evaluates a 1.5 IQ drop per sibling. In families with two children, however, the first-born isn’t necessarily the most intelligent since they only have a 60% chance of having a higher IQ. In this equation, there is still a good chance that the younger sibling will surpass them later on life.
Apart from boosted intelligence, first-born children also show a heightened perception of their brain capabilities. The data for this study was accumulated from personality and IQ tests from three different national studies, one of which was carried out in the UK and involved more than 20,000 participants.
“One theory is that following children “dilute” the resources of their parents.”, Dr. Julia Rohrer told the Daily Mail.
“While the firstborn gets full parental attention, at least for some months or years, late-borns will have to share from the beginning.”
“Another possible factor is described by the tutoring hypothesis: A firstborn can “tutor” their younger siblings, explaining to them how the world works and so on.”
“Teaching other people has high cognitive demands – the children need to recall their own knowledge, structure it and think of a good way to explain it to younger siblings, which could provide a boost to intelligence for some firstborns.”
Is this IQ difference innate, or developed?
As you may have already heard, most of our intelligence is developed. In fact, only around 40% of our intelligence is genetically conditioned. The rest needs to be built through the environment. The IQ differences between the children comes as a result of environment, not genes.
The first reason first-borns can have a higher IQ may be due to the fact that these children get undivided attention for at least some months or years – something late-borns will have to share from the beginning.
The parents’ expectations from their first child are often higher compared to the other children, and as you know,higher expectations contribute to higher IQ in the long run.
Because of this, first-born children also find themselves often looking after their younger siblings. They are often designated the role of teaching their younger brothers and sisters what has been taught to them.
This responsibility has the greatest effect on the IQ boost first-borns get. Perhaps those 40% who didn’t have a higher IQ in the study were not given such responsibilities by their parents.
Is this the case with you and your siblings?
Source: apost.com
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