Is intelligence determined by genetics?

Like most aspects of human behavior and cognition, intelligence is a complex trait that is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors.

Intelligence is challenging to study, in part because it can be defined and measured in different ways. Most definitions of intelligence include the ability to learn from experiences and adapt to changing environments. Elements of intelligence include the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, and understand complex ideas. Many studies rely on a measure of intelligence called the intelligence quotient (IQ).

Researchers have conducted many studies to look for genes that influence intelligence. Since it is difficult to separate the genetic and environmental influences of a trait like intelligence, these studies can be complicated. Many of these studies have focused on similarities and differences in IQ within families, particularly looking at adopted children and twins. Other studies have examined variations across the entire genomes of many people (an approach called genome-wide association studies or GWAS) to determine whether any specific areas of the genome are associated with IQ. Studies have shown that intelligence has a genetic component, but they have not conclusively identified any single genes that have major roles in differences in intelligence. It is likely that intelligence involves many genes that each make only a small contribution to a person’s intelligence. Other areas that contribute to intelligence, such as memory and verbal ability, involve additional genetic factors. The genetic influences on intelligence is an ongoing area of research.

Intelligence is also strongly influenced by the environment. During a child's development, factors that contribute to intelligence include their home environment and parenting, education and availability of learning resources, and healthcare and nutrition. A person’s environment and genes influence each other, and it can be challenging to tease apart the effects of the environment from those of genetics. For example, if a person's level of intelligence is similar to that of their parents, is that similarity due to genetic factors passed down from parent to child, to shared environmental factors, or (most likely) to a combination of both? It is clear that both environmental and genetic factors play a part in determining intelligence.

Scientific journal articles for further reading

Plomin R, Deary IJ. Genetics and intelligence differences: five special findings. Mol Psychiatry. 2015 Feb;20(1):98-108. doi: 10.1038/mp.2014.105. Epub 2014 Sep 16. Review. PubMed: 25224258. Free full-text available from PubMed Central: PMC4270739.

Plomin R, von Stumm S. The new genetics of intelligence. Nat Rev Genet. 2018 Mar;19(3):148-159. doi: 10.1038/nrg.2017.104. Epub 2018 Jan 8. PubMed: 29335645. Free full-text available from PubMed Central: PMC5985927.

Sniekers S, Stringer S, Watanabe K, Jansen PR, Coleman JRI, Krapohl E, Taskesen E, Hammerschlag AR, Okbay A, Zabaneh D, Amin N, Breen G, Cesarini D, Chabris CF, Iacono WG, Ikram MA, Johannesson M, Koellinger P, Lee JJ, Magnusson PKE, McGue M, Miller MB, Ollier WER, Payton A, Pendleton N, Plomin R, Rietveld CA, Tiemeier H, van Duijn CM, Posthuma D. Genome-wide association meta-analysis of 78,308 individuals identifies new loci and genes influencing human intelligence. Nat Genet. 2017 Jul;49(7):1107-1112. doi: 10.1038/ng.3869. Epub 2017 May 22. Erratum in: Nat Genet. 2017 Sep 27;49(10 ):1558. PubMed: 28530673. Free full-text available from PubMed Central: PMC5665562

Sternberg RJ. Intelligence. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2012 Mar;14(1):19-27. Review. PubMed: 22577301. Free full-text available from PubMed Central: PMC3341646