IJMSS6June17-6388.docx

ROLE OF NATURE AND NURTURE ON INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT OF ORPHAN AND NON-ORPHAN CHILDREN Seema Srivastava*, Pragya Bhatnagar** *Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Vasanta College for Women, Rajghat Fort, Varanasi, **M.A. (Psychology) Department of Psychology, Vasanta College for Women, Rajghat Fort, Varanasi ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to assess the Intelligence level of Orphan and Non-Orphan children and study the genetic and environmental influences on IQ of children. Children with the age-group of 10-15 years were selected for this study. For the purpose of assessing Intelligence Quotient, Pass Along Test (performance test) developed by W.P. Alexander (1937) was used. Random sampling technique was applied. Data was collected from two groups. Group 1 consisted of 30 orphan children (both sexes) and group 2 consisted of 30 non-orphan children. T-test was applied,which revealed that a non-significant difference is found between the IQ level of both samples and that the institutionalized children do not have low IQ level then the children living with their families, which was not observed in many other researches done in this field.The entire hypothesis is disapproved and the aim of the study is achieved. Keywords: orphan, intelligence quotient, children, nurture Introduction Intelligence is a key construct employed to know how individuals differ from one another. It also provides an understanding of how people adapt their behavior according to the environment they live in. If you watch an intelligent person, you are likely to see in him/her attributes like mental alertness, ready wit, quickness in learning and ability to understand relationships. The Oxford Dictionary explains intelligence as the power of perceiving, learning, understanding, and knowing.AlfredBinet(1905) was one of the first psychologists who worked on intelligence. He defined intelligence as the ability to judge well, understand well, and reason well. Wechsler, whose intelligence tests are most widely used, understood intelligence in terms of its functionality, i. e. its value for adaptation to environment. He defined it as the global and aggregate capacity of an individual to think rationally, act purposefully, and to deal effectively with his/her environment. Other psychologists, such as Gardner and Sternberg have suggested that an intelligent individual not only adapts to its environment, but also actively modifies or shapes it. The term intelligence refers to individuals’ abilities to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experiences, to engage in various forms of reasoning, to overcome obstacles by careful thoughts. Psychologists have proposed several theories of intelligence. Theories can be broadly classified as either representing a psychometric/structural approach or an information-processing approach. The psychometric approach considers intelligence as an aggregate of abilities. It expresses the individual’s performance in terms of a single index of cognitive abilities. On the other hand,the information-processing approach describes the processes people use in intellectual reasoning and problem solving. The major focus of this approach is on how an intelligent person acts. Rather than focusing on structure of intelligence or its underlying dimensions, information-processing approaches emphasize studying cognitive functions underlying intelligent behavior. Alfred Binet was the first psychologist who tried to formalize the concept of intelligence in terms of mental operations. Binet’s theory of intelligence was rather simple as it arose from his interest in differentiating more intelligent from less intelligent individuals. He, therefore, conceptualized intelligence as consisting of one similar set of abilities which can be used for solving any or every problem in an individual’s environment. Robert Sternberg (1985) proposed the triarchic theory of intelligence. Sternberg views intelligence as “the ability to adapt, to shape and select environment to accomplish one’s goals and those of one’s society and culture”. According to this theory, there are three basic types of intelligence: componential, Experiential and contextual. Componential Intelligence: specifies the cognitive processes that underlie all intelligent behavior. Experiential Intelligence: specifies how experiences affect intelligence and how intelligence affects a person’s experiences. Contextual Intelligence: specifies the behaviors considered intelligent in a particular culture. Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence represents the information-processing approach to understand intelligence. It is often difficult to separate the relative influences of heredity and environment on human characteristics. People who have similar genetic makeup (e.g., brothers and sisters, parents and their children) typically live in similar environments as well. So when we see similarities in IQ among members of the same family, it is hard to know whether those similarities are due to the genes or to the environments that family members share. Nevertheless, a significant body of research tells us that both heredity and environment affect intelligence. Earlier we mentioned that measures of information processing speed correlate with IQ scores. Speed of processing depends on neurological efficiency and maturation, which are genetically controlled. From this standpoint, then, we have some support for a hereditary basis for intelligence (Perkins, 1995). The fact that children with certain genetic defects (Down syndrome) have, on average, significantly lower IQ scores than their nondisabled peers (Keogh& MacMillan, 1996) provides further evidence of heredity’s influence. Your brain, your nervous system, your entire body is constructed according to instructions received from the genes that you have inherited from your parents. It would seem reasonable that superior genes would provide a child with superior intelligence capacity. And in fact, researchers have discovered that parents with high IQ’s tend to have children with high IQ’s, while parents with low IQ’s tend to have children with low IQ’s. However, consider the fact that, unless a child does not learn to speak at all,the children of English parents speak English, the children of Spanish parents speak Spanish, and the children of French parents speak French. Surely the ability to speak a certain language is not inherited, but it is dependent on the language that the child hears on a daily basis. In the same way, IQ and intelligence might be dependent on the child’s environment, and specifically the quality and quantity of education that he receives. Perhaps being raised in intellectual home with intelligent parents tends to increase a child’s IQ. Research on the role of the environment in children’s intellectual developments has demonstrated that a stimulating environment can dramatically increase IQ, whereas a deprived environment can lead to a decrease in IQ. The evidence for heredity influences on intelligence comes mainly from studies on twins and adoptive children. The intelligence of identical twins reared together correlate almost 0.90. Twins separated early in childhood also show considerable similarity in their intellectual, personality and behavioral characteristics.The intelligence of identical twins reared in different environments correlate 0.72, those of fraternal twins reared together correlate almost 0.60 and those of brothers and sisters reared together correlate about 0.50,while siblings reared apart correlate about 0.25.Another way to separate the effects of heredity and environment is to compare adopted children with both their biological and adoptive parents. Adopted children tend to be similar to their biological parents in genetic makeup. Their environment, of course, more closely matches that of their adoptive parents.Researchers have found that adoptive children’s IQ scores are more highly correlated with their biological parents’ IQs than with their adoptive parents’ IQs. Keep in mind that twin studies and adoption studies do not completely separate the effects of heredity and environment. Furthermore, twin studies and adoption studies do not allow researchers to examine the ways in which heredity and environment might interact in their effects on measured intelligence.Any interactive effects are often added to the “heredity” side of the scoreboard. Despite such glitches, twin and adoption studies point convincingly to a genetic component in intelligence (Bouchard, 1997; Wilkerson, 2000). The last few decades have seen a slow, steady increase in people’s average performance on IQ tests throughout the industrialized world. This trend is commonly known as Flynn effect. Such improvements are difficult to attribute to heredity because the same gene pool is passed along from one generation to the next,and so the cause is almost certainly environmental. Theorists disagree to the likely explanations, however. Better nutrition, smaller family sizes, highly quality environments, better schooling and more enriching and informative stimulation (increases access to television, reading materials, etc.) are all possibilities. With respect to the role of environment, studies have reported that as children grow in age their intelligence level tends to move closer to that of their adoptive parents. Children from disadvantaged homes adopted into families with higher socio- economic status exhibit a large increase in their intelligence scores. There is evidence that environmental deprivation lowers intelligence while rich nutrition, good family background and quality schooling increases intelligence. Clearly, both nature and nurture influence intelligence. What is less clear is how much influence each of these factors has. A few theorists have tried to estimate nature’s contribution (the heritability of IQ) from the correlations obtained in twin and adoption studies. But most psychologists now believe that it may ultimately be impossible to separate the relative effects of heredity and environment. They suggest that the two combine to influence children’s development and measured IQ in ways that we can probably never disentangle.There is a general consensus among psychologists that intelligence is a product of complex interaction of heredity (nature) and environment (nurture). Heredity can best be viewed as something that sets a range within which an individual’s development is actually shaped by the support and opportunities of the environment. An orphan is a child whose parents are dead or have abandoned them permanently.In commonusage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan. Adult can also be referred to as orphanor adult orphans. However, survivors who reached adulthood before their parents died are normally not called orphans.It is a term generally reserved for children whose parents have died while they are too young to support themselves. A Non-Orphan is a child who has both parents and is a part of the intact family. The intact family appears to offer a myriad of benefits for adults and children. The married home tends to provide a safer and healthier home environment. Children raised in intact families have, on average, higher academic achievement, better emotional health, and fewer behavioral problems. Due to healthy parenting, children are well adjusted psychologically and emotionally. In intact families, mothers tend to create a better home environment for their children. Fathers spend more time with their children. But this is not the case always, many children are mal-adjusted due to poor parenting, low socio-economic status, neglect, maternal deprivation, abuse and domestic violence. UNICEF and global partners define an orphan as a child who has lost one or both parents. By this definition there were over 132 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean in 2005. This large figure represents not only children who have lost both parents, but also those who have lost a father but have a surviving mother or have lost their mother but have a surviving father. Of the more than 132 million children classified as orphans, only 13 million have lost both parents. Evidence clearly shows that a vast majority of orphans are living with a surviving parent, grandparent or other family member 0.95 per cent of all orphans are over the age of five. Today, millions of vulnerable children around the world are growing up in orphanages, without the love and care of a family. In the best cases, the children are receiving food, clothes, a cot or bed, an education and a roof over their heads. They are supported by a well –meaning charities, churches, individuals and governments. In the worst cases, they are isolated, starved, abused, sold into international adoption or sex cartels and many die. Depriving children of a loving environment causes lasting damage to their intelligence, emotional wellbeing and even their physical stature, according to the most extensive study of social deprivation yet. A lack of care and attention left children with stunted growth, substantially lower IQs and more behavioral and psychological problems then children who had been better cared for. Psychologist have long believed that growing up in an institution like an orphanage stunts children’s mental development but have never had direct evidence to back it up. Previous research shows that the loss of a parent can lead to a series of developmental disadvantages resulting in poor education, such as lags in grade for age and school attendance relative to non-orphans. In contrast, other studies find little negative impact of parental death on child education and instead find that alternative factors such as wealth, age, or the child’s relationship to the head of household are better predictors of education outcomes. In all cases, they never get the love, support and sense of identity that only a loving family can give. Hundreds of studies tell us- as does our common sense- that family life is crucial to a child’s healthy development. Without it, children suffer great harm and are deeply damaged. Evidence shows us that children who grow up in institutional care are more likely to suffer from poor health, physical underdevelopment, deterioration in brain growth, and to experience developmental delays and emotional attachment disorders. Consequently, they have lower intellectual, social and behavioral abilities than children growing up in a family environment. They also suffer the social consequences of having no family support structure and being branded as social outcasts, which often lasts a lifetime. Objective: To assess the intelligence level of orphan and non-orphan children and study the effects of genetic and environmental influences on Intelligence Quotient. Hypothesis: There would be significant difference in the IQ level of Orphan and Non-Orphan children METHODOLOGY Design used for the purpose of the study: For measuring the IQ level of orphan and non-orphan children, between-group design was used. It consisted of two groups. Group 1 consisted of 30 orphans and group 2 consisted of 30 non-orphans. Sample:For the purpose of measuring IQ (Intelligence Quotient), the test was administered on 60 subjects, 30 orphan children from SOS Children’s villages of India, Faridabad and30 non-orphan children from GTB Enclave, Dilshad Garden. The sample consisted of both sexes i.e., male and female, with the age group of 10 to 15 years, studying in class 5th to 10th. The sample selection was done on the basis of randomization. Apparatus: Pass Along Test (W.P. Alexander, 1937).Pass Along Test is a performance test that measures intelligence. It consists of four wooden boxes of different sizes, eight blocks of one size, two red and six blue; three blocks of larger size, one red and two blue, and two large square blocks, one red and one blue; a set of eight colored diagrams showing the final position for each of the nine sub-tests. The subject is given a design card. He/she must make the image using the blocks. Each sub-test has a time limit. The time taken to complete each card is scored to find out the IQ of the subject. It was devised in 1937 and was published by the Councils and Educational Press Limited. It was distributed by the National Foundation for Educational Research. The tests were used by the Institute of Education, University of Liverpool, between 1960 and 1990. RESULT Table 1: IQ scores of orphan and non-orphan children are given in the table below. S. No. IQ scores of sample A (orphan children) IQ scores of sample B (non-orphan children) 1 104 186 2 139 81 3 125 134 4 110 95 5 131 102 6 86 107 7 79 109 8 103 146 9 76 101 10 105 83 11 125 92 12 104 107 13 123 122 14 115 80 15 101 93 16 98 89 17 138 93 18 128 86 19 101 64 20 87 106 21 158 87 22 128 102 23 132 123 24 158 122 25 129 139 26 157 142 27 116 125 28 157 104 29 161 136 30 165 132 Table-1 shows the IQ level of 60 participants categorized as sample 1 and sample 2. Sample 1 comprises of orphan children and sample 2 comprises of non-orphan children. Table- 2: Table shows the Mean, Standard Deviation, Standard Error of Difference and t-value. Sample Mean S.D S.E.D t- value Orphan 121.3 4.56 0.54 0.03 Non-Orphan 109.6 4.58 P> 0.05 (DF 58), P> 0.01 (DF 58) From the above table, we can see that the Mean value of the total scores obtained by the orphans for intelligence is 121.3 and their S.D. is 4.56. The Mean value of the total scores obtained by the Non-Orphans is 109.6 and their S.D. is 4.58.The standard error of difference obtained is 0.54 and the t-value obtained is 0.03. At 0.05 level of significance, the critical value is 12.71 and calculated value is 0.03. At 0.01 level of significance, Critical value is 63.66 and calculated value is 0.03 respectively. So here the calculated t-value is less than the table value of ‘t’. So the t-value is insignificant at both levels. Therefore, there is insignificant difference between the IQ level of both Orphan and Non-Orphan children. DISCUSSION The present study was done to find out the Intelligence level of Orphan and Non-Orphan children and point out the major differences between them. T-test revealed a non-significant difference in the IQ level of both samples. Hence, the hypothesis which states that there is a significant difference in the IQ level of both Orphan and Non-Orphan children is rejected.The present finding is contradictory to most of the studies done in the past which provided strong evidences that children growing up in orphanages showed lower IQ’s than did children growing up in a family. There are number of factors which might be responsible for the result of the present study like better quality of life in institutions, environmental factors, genetic influences, poverty, neglect, poor parental care, methodological factors and sample selection. Quality of life in orphanages- Today many Orphanages are committed to the welfare of orphaned and abandoned children- often throughout the whole of their childhood- and to strengthening families and communities as a preventive measure in the fight against child abandonment and social neglect. Now- a- days, child-care homes are going with the concept of providing a caring parent and brothers and sisters to a child where he/she gets attached with them deeply, grows naturally, creating its own home. SOS Children’s Village, Faridabad, from where the sample of orphan children is selected, each child is provided with a mother. The SOS mother builds a close relationship with every child entrusted to her and provides the security, love and stability that each child needs. She lives together with the children, guides their development, and runs her household independently. In SOS village, girls and boys of different ages live together as brothers and sisters, with natural brothers and sisters always staying within the same SOS family. These children and their SOS mother build emotional ties that last a lifetime. There are number of houses in SOS village. In each house, ten children live with their SOS mother. Children enjoy a real sense of security and belonging. They grow and learn together, sharing responsibilities and all the joys and sorrows of daily life. Researchers have noted a correlation between child IQ scores and attachment status. One study of 36 middle-class mothers and their three-year-olds found that securely-attached children scored 12 points higher on the Stanford- Benet intelligence test than did insecurely attached children (Crandell and Hobson, 1999). Environmental Factors- There are a number of environmental factors which play a major role in the IQ of a child. These are: Modern Media- Modern Media forms including TV, film, computer games, electronic gadgets and devices, the internet and computer software are giving children a cognitive work out each time they participate in these form of modern media. Computer games,software and gadgets require great analytical and logical thought and probing in order to be used to their entirety. In SOS village, there is a television and other electronic gadgets in each house. Also, there is Computer Lab where children can play computer games, use internet or learn the basics of computer. Education- Increasing the time in education and quality of education before the critical limit and to a lesser extent afterwards, has shown to improve a child’s performance on an intelligence test. SOS Village has its own school in the village campus where all the children go to attend classes. It has classes from nursery to 12th. The school is very renowned as the school strength consists not only of children from SOS village but also children from general category. Nutrition- Poor nutrition, characterized by zinc, iron, vitamin B and protein deficiencies, leads to low IQ, which leads to later antisocial behavior. Children in SOS Village are provided with good nutritious food including eggs, meat, milk, fruits and green leafy vegetables three times a day. Today, most of the child care homes are focusing their concern on healthy development of a child by providing better nutrition, quality education and exposure to modern media in order to compete with today’s world. Other environmental factors that affect children’s IQ are breast feeding, womb condition, pollution, prejudices and self-belief, drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness, sleep problems, stress, disease and so on. Genetic influences- Several lines of research offer support for the view that heredity plays an important role in human intelligence. Researchers have discovered that parents with high IQ’s tend have children with high IQ’s, while parents with low IQ’s tend to have children with low IQ’s (McGue et al., 1993;Neisser et al., 1996). Plomin and his colleagues (1997) suggest that genetic factors play an important role in intelligence and may indeed outweigh environmental factors in this respect. But here, regarding the present study, inferences could not be made about the genetic influences on IQ as it was not possible to know about the children’s family history and parents’ background. Poverty, Neglect and Poor parental care- Non-Orphan children who grow up in low income households and who have experienced neglect are at risk for difficulties with cognitive and academic achievement. Also parents who do not spend much time with their children, are not sensitive to their child’s needs or do not share a loving and friendly relationship with their children tend to increase difficulties which can hinders the overall healthy development of children. LIMITATIONS The result of the present study could be due to the inappropriate use of particular strategies and tools for data gathering and analysis or due to the lack of effective sampling strategy needed for quality of findings.The sample of orphan children was taken from only one child-care home and the sample of non-orphan children was taken from only one locality. The sample size was small. The tool used for data collection was time consuming and was proving a little bit difficult for children to solve it. IMPLICATIONS Intelligence is affected by genetic factors but this in no way implies that it can-not be influenced by environmental conditions. The recognition that genetic factors play an important role in intelligence in no way implies that intelligence is etched in stone- and definitely does not constitute an excuse for giving up on children who, because of poverty, prejudice, or neglect, are seriously at risk. Measures should be taken at child-care homes or at families to increase healthy intellectual development in children. REFERENCES Alexander, W. P. (1937). The passalong test: A performance test of intelligence, London: University of London Press. Baron, A. Robert (2008). Psychology: (5th Ed.). New Delhi: Pearson Education. Bouchard, T.J., Jr. (1997). Experience producing drive theory: How genes drive experience and shape personality. ActaPaediatrica, 422, 60–64. Crandell, L. E. and Hobson, R. P. (1999). Individual differences in young children’s IQ: A social-development perspective. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 40(3), 455-64. Keogh, B.K., and D.L. MacMillan (1996). Exceptionality. 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Perspectives on learning for childbirth educators. J Perinat Educ., 9(3), 11-18. IJMSS Vol.05 Issue-06, (June, 2017) ISSN: 2321-1784 International Journal in Management and Social Science (Impact Factor- 6.178) A Monthly Double-Blind Peer Reviewed Refereed Open Access International Journal - Included in the International Serial Directories International Journal in Management and Social Science http://www.ijmr.net.in email id- [email protected] Page 9