Intelligence and childlessness.
TL;DR: Analyses of the National Child Development Study show that more intelligent men and women express preference to remain childless early in their reproductive careers, but only more intelligent women are more likely to remainChildless by the end of their reproductive career.
About: This article is published in Social Science Research.The article was published on 2014-11-01. It has received 46 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Childlessness & Population.
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TL;DR: In this article, the negative association between human capital and fertility mostly reflects family background factors, as high-skilled males tend to have more children than their less-skilled twins or siblings.
Abstract: Many previous studies have shown that skilled and educated women have fewer children. By comparing twins and close siblings in Swedish register data, we show that the negative association between human capital and fertility mostly reflects family background factors. For males, human capital measures are unrelated to fertility in the overall population, but this again masks the influence of family background factors as high-skilled males tend to have more children than their less-skilled twins or siblings. Hence, family background factors have a strong negative impact on the overall association between human capital measures and fertility for both women and men. Non-cognitive abilities deviate from these patterns—these abilities remain strongly complementary to fertility both within and across families. Our results can be reconciled with a stylized model where family-specific preferences for fertility are shared across generations and shape investments in skills and traits when children are young.
5 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that the case for using mate selection, embryo selection, and other interventions to enhance heritable traits like intelligence is strengthened by the fact that they seem to have positive network effects.
Abstract: A central debate in bioethics is whether parents should try to influence the genetic basis of their children’s traits. We argue that the case for using mate selection, embryo selection, and other interventions to enhance heritable traits like intelligence is strengthened by the fact that they seem to have positive network effects. These network effects include increased cooperation in collective action problems, which contributes to social trust and prosperity. We begin with an overview of evidence for these claims, and then argue that if individual welfare is largely a function of group traits, parents should try to preserve or enhance cognitive traits that have positive network effects.
5 citations
Cites background from "Intelligence and childlessness."
...Potrafke (2012), Jones and Potrafke (2014), and Kanyama (2014) have all reported robust relationships between national average IQ and a variety of measures of national quality of economic institutions....
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TL;DR: This article found no evidence for covariation between early pubertal maturation and school progress; girls who were more than 1.5 years old for their grade did not show signs of faster development of breasts and axillary hair.
5 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors combine the approaches of evolutionary and social psychology to investigate the relationship between intelligence, music preferences, and uses of music, and found that intelligence was a significant predictor of the preference for instrumental music, but not of vocal-instrumental music.
Abstract: Music is a component of human culture of a historically universal presence. Enjoyed by many and irrelevant to few, music continuously receives interest from academia and the public alike. Capable of uniting, as well as dividing, music is often in a focus of individual comparisons. In this study, we combine the approaches of evolutionary and social psychology to investigate the relationship between intelligence, music preferences, and uses of music. We collected data from 467 high school students. We used the Nonverbal Sequence Test, the Uses of Music Questionnaire, and the Scale of Music Preferences. Confirming our expectations based on the Savanna-IQ interaction hypothesis, we found intelligence to be a significant predictor of the preference for instrumental music, but not of the preference for vocal-instrumental music. Furthermore, we revealed the significant role of cognitive use of music as a predictor of the preference for instrumental music. We conducted factor analysis of the Scale of Music Preferences, and revealed five factors: reflective, popular, conservative, intense, and sophisticated. We also found the cognitive use of music to be significantly correlated with the preference for instrumental music, as well as music of reflexive, intense and sophisticated factors. Taken together, our findings support the Savanna-IQ interaction hypothesis.
4 citations
Cites background from "Intelligence and childlessness."
...…liberal political views and atheism (Kanazawa, 2010b), circadian rhythms (Kanazawa & Perina, 2009), homosexuality (Kanazawa, 2012), childlessness (Kanazawa, 2014), enjoyment of TV programs (Kanazawa, 2006b), health (Kanazawa, 2008), wealth of states (Kanazawa, 2006a), and music preferences…...
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01 Jan 2020
TL;DR: A longitudinal study in which pregnant women and a control group took standardized IQ tests at 12-week intervals found no evidence of overall cognitive decline in the pregnant group, and the IQ scores of pregnant women increased more than non-pregnant control participants across matched time intervals.
Abstract: Although the popular press describes pregnancy-related cognitive decrements, sometimes called “baby brain”, controlled studies have not consistently found reliable evidence of a decline in cognitive function during pregnancy. A functional approach measuring components of intelligence as they change across the trimesters of pregnancy and into the postpartum may help resolve this puzzle. The current study was a longitudinal study in which pregnant women and a control group took standardized IQ tests at 12-week intervals. We found no evidence of overall cognitive decline in the pregnant group, and the IQ scores of pregnant women increased more than non-pregnant control participants across matched time intervals. The increase in raw scores of fluid intelligence subscales was not statistically significant, nor was it significantly different than the increase in the control group.
3 citations
Cites background from "Intelligence and childlessness."
...higher IQ women are more likely to remain childless (Kanazawa, 2014)), this...
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...That is, if a pregnant and non-pregnant group differ on IQ for any reason (e.g. higher IQ women are more likely to remain childless (Kanazawa, 2014)), this confound would thwart our interpretation of a static group differences....
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References
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12 Jul 2017
TL;DR: The p,cnetics of sex nas now becn clarif ied, and Fishcr ( 1958 ) hrs produccd , n,od"l to cxplarn sex ratios at coDception, a nrodel recently extendcd to include special mccha_ nisms that operate under inbreeding (Hunrilron I96?).
Abstract: There is a tendency among biologists studying social behavior to regard the adult sex ratio as an independent variable to which the species reacts with appropriate adaptations D Lack often interprets social behavior as an adaptation in part to an unbalanced (or balanced) sex ratio, and J Verner has summarized other instances of this tendency The only mechanism that will generate differential mortality independent of sexual differences clearly related to parental investment and sexual selection is the chromosomal mechanism, applied especially to humans and other mammals: the unguarded X chromosome of the male is presumed to predispose him to higher mortality Each offspring can be viewed as an investment independent of other offspring, increasing investment in one offspring tending to decrease investment in others Species can be classified according to the relative parental investment of the sexes in their young In the vast majority of species, the male's only contribution to the survival of his offspring is his sex cells
10,571 citations
"Intelligence and childlessness." refers background in this paper
...Given that mating for mammalian species is largely a female choice (Trivers, 1972), women’s preference for intelligent men as mates can potentially explain why more intelligent men may be as likely to become parents as less intelligence men despite their expressed preference to remain childless at…...
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Book•
01 Jan 1981
TL;DR: The Enlarged Edition as mentioned in this paper provides an overview of the evolution of the family and the state Bibliography Index. But it does not discuss the relationship between fertility and the division of labor in families.
Abstract: Preface to the Enlarged Edition Introduction 1. Single-Person Households 2. Division of Labor in Households and Families Supplement: Human Capital, Effort, and the Sexual Division of Labor 3. Polygamy and Monogamy in Marriage Markets 4. Assortative Mating in Marriage Markets 5. The Demand for Children Supplement: A Reformulation of the Economic Theory of Fertility 6. Family Background and the Opportunities of Children 7. Inequality and Intergenerational Mobility Supplement: Human Capital and the Rise and Fall of Families 8. Altruism in the Family 9. Families in Nonhuman Species 10. Imperfect Information, Marriage, and Divorce 11. The Evolution of the Family Supplement: The Family and the State Bibliography Index
9,096 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: A Treatise on the Family by G. S. Becker as discussed by the authors is one of the most famous and influential economists of the second half of the 20th century, a fervent contributor to and expounder of the University of Chicago free-market philosophy, and winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize in economics.
Abstract: A Treatise on the Family. G. S. Becker. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 1981. Gary Becker is one of the most famous and influential economists of the second half of the 20th century, a fervent contributor to and expounder of the University of Chicago free-market philosophy, and winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize in economics. Although any book with the word "treatise" in its title is clearly intended to have an impact, one coming from someone as brilliant and controversial as Becker certainly had such a lofty goal. It has received many article-length reviews in several disciplines (Ben-Porath, 1982; Bergmann, 1995; Foster, 1993; Hannan, 1982), which is one measure of its scholarly importance, and yet its impact is, I think, less than it may have initially appeared, especially for scholars with substantive interests in the family. This book is, its title notwithstanding, more about economics and the economic approach to behavior than about the family. In the first sentence of the preface, Becker writes "In this book, I develop an economic or rational choice approach to the family." Lest anyone accuse him of focusing on traditional (i.e., material) economics topics, such as family income, poverty, and labor supply, he immediately emphasizes that those topics are not his focus. "My intent is more ambitious: to analyze marriage, births, divorce, division of labor in households, prestige, and other non-material behavior with the tools and framework developed for material behavior." Indeed, the book includes chapters on many of these issues. One chapter examines the principles of the efficient division of labor in households, three analyze marriage and divorce, three analyze various child-related issues (fertility and intergenerational mobility), and others focus on broader family issues, such as intrafamily resource allocation. His analysis is not, he believes, constrained by time or place. His intention is "to present a comprehensive analysis that is applicable, at least in part, to families in the past as well as the present, in primitive as well as modern societies, and in Eastern as well as Western cultures." His tone is profoundly conservative and utterly skeptical of any constructive role for government programs. There is a clear sense of how much better things were in the old days of a genderbased division of labor and low market-work rates for married women. Indeed, Becker is ready and able to show in Chapter 2 that such a state of affairs was efficient and induced not by market or societal discrimination (although he allows that it might exist) but by small underlying household productivity differences that arise primarily from what he refers to as "complementarities" between caring for young children while carrying another to term. Most family scholars would probably find that an unconvincingly simple explanation for a profound and complex phenomenon. What, then, is the salient contribution of Treatise on the Family? It is not literally the idea that economics could be applied to the nonmarket sector and to family life because Becker had already established that with considerable success and influence. At its core, microeconomics is simple, characterized by a belief in the importance of prices and markets, the role of self-interested or rational behavior, and, somewhat less centrally, the stability of preferences. It was Becker's singular and invaluable contribution to appreciate that the behaviors potentially amenable to the economic approach were not limited to phenomenon with explicit monetary prices and formal markets. Indeed, during the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, he did undeniably important and pioneering work extending the domain of economics to such topics as labor market discrimination, fertility, crime, human capital, household production, and the allocation of time. Nor is Becker's contribution the detailed analyses themselves. Many of them are, frankly, odd, idiosyncratic, and off-putting. …
4,817 citations
"Intelligence and childlessness." refers background in this paper
...…1986; Ryder, 1979; Westoff, 1986), to cultural or religious (Hayford and Morgan, 2008; Heaton, 1986; Mosher et al., 1992; Pearce, 2002; Westoff and Bumpass, 1973), and to rational choice (Becker, 1960, 1981; Butz and Ward, 1979; Easterlin et al., 1980; Friedman et al., 1994; Schoen et al., 1997)....
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Book•
01 Jan 1972
TL;DR: In the first full discussion of sexual selection since 1871, leading biologists brought modern genetic theory and behavior observation to bear on the subject as mentioned in this paper, and the result is a remarkably original and well-rounded view of the whole concept that will be invaluable especially to students of evolution and human sexual behavior.
Abstract: Just over one hundred and thirty years ago Charles Darwin, in The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871), developed remarkably accurate conclusions about man's ancestry, based on a review of general comparative anatomy and psychology in which he regarded sexual selection as a necessary part of the evolutionary process. But the attention of biologists turned to the more general concept of natural selection, in which sexual selection plays a complex role that has been little understood. This volume significantly broadens the scope of modern evolutionary biology by looking at this important and long neglected concept of great importance. In this book, which is the first full discussion of sexual selection since 1871, leading biologists bring modern genetic theory and behavior observation to bear on the subject. The distinguished authors consider many aspects of sexual selection in many species, including man, within the context of contemporary evolutionary theory and research. The result is a remarkably original and well-rounded view of the whole concept that will be invaluable especially to students of evolution and human sexual behavior. The lucid authority of the contributors and the importance of the topic will interest all who share in man's perennial fascination with his own history. The book will be of central importance to a wide variety of professionals, including biologists, anthropologists, and geneticists. It will be an invaluable supplementary text for courses in vertebrate biology, theory of evolution, genetics, and physical anthropology. It is especially important with the emergence of alternative explanations of human development, under the rubric of creationism and doctrines of intelligent design.
3,863 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the evolution of cognitive class and education in the United States and the role of race and ethnicity in cognitive ability in the development of cognitive ability and the level of American education.
Abstract: Contents List of Illustrations List of Tables A Note to the Reader Preface Acknowledgments Introduction PART I. THE EMERGENCE OF A COGNITIVE ELITE 1 Cognitive Class and Education, 1900-1990 2 Cognitive Partitioning by Occupation 3 The Economic Pressure to Partition 4 Steeper Ladders, Narrower Gates PART II. COGNITIVE CLASSES AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR 5 Poverty 6 Schooling 7 Unemployment, Idleness, and Injury 8 Family Matters 9 Welfare Dependency 10 Parenting 11 Crime 12 Civility and Citizenship PART III. THE NATIONAL CONTEXT 13 Ethnic Differences in Cognitive Ability 14 Ethnic Inequalities in Relation to IQ 15 The Demography of Intelligence 16 Social Behavior and the Prevalence of Low Cognitive Ability PART IV. LIVING TOGETHER 17 Raising Cognitive Ability 18 The Leveling of American Education 19 Affirmative Action in Higher Education 20 Affirmative Action in the Workplace 21 The Way We Are Headed 22 A Place for Everyone Afterworld APPENDIXES 1 Statistics for People Who Are Sure They Can't Learn Statistics 2 Technical Issues Regarding the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 3 Technical Issues Regarding the Armed Forces Qualification Test as a Measure of IQ 4 Regression Analyses (rom Part II 5 Supplemental Material for Chapter 13 6 Regression Analyses from Chapter 14 7 The Evolution of Affirmative Action in the Workplace Notes Bibliography Index
3,790 citations