onment in which we are raised has a direct effect on the type and the degree of intelligence we may develop, the only ambiguity is how large or small this effect might be. Even if only 30% of the variation in intelligence is attributable to environmental factors, this effect should still be detectable. Victoria J. Molfese, Lisabeth F. DiLalla, and Debra Bunce from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale conducted a study, which attempted to measure the effects of socio-economic status, home environment, and biomedical risk factors on intelligence test scores of 3 to 8 year olds. Home environment quality was evaluated according to maternal intelligence, characteristics of the home, and parenting practices. Although the researchers found that home environment was the best predictor of scores on intelligence test scores, the definition of a superior home environment seems fraught with biases. The conclusion that the researchers draw is a valid one based on their data but may not easily be generalized. A good home environment is undoubtedly essential to the intellectual development of young children but what constitute such an environment is certainly open to debate. Differences in values may lead to incorrect assessment of home environment and thus skew the results. The second measure that they employed, as a predictor of intelligence test scores, was that of Socio-Economic Status. This is, in my opinion, is a more objective factor. The results from the study showed that SES had a greater effect on predicting intelligence test scores of 5 to 8 year olds. Many studies have also shown that early adolescent test scores are positively correlated with SES. These results would seem to suggest that as children become older and gain an awareness of their SES their intellectual development suffers. This could be the result of stigmatization, once the individual realized that they do not posses the things that others in their environment do, they...
