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No support for the hereditarian hypothesis of the Black–White achievement gap using polygenic scores and tests for divergent selection
Author(s) -
Bird Kevin A.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.24216
Subject(s) - selection (genetic algorithm) , natural selection , cognition , biology , psychology , directional selection , variance (accounting) , evolutionary biology , genetics , computer science , machine learning , neuroscience , accounting , business
Abstract Objectives Debate about the cause of IQ score gaps between Black and White populations has persisted within genetics, anthropology, and psychology. Recently, authors claimed polygenic scores provide evidence that a significant portion of differences in cognitive performance between Black and White populations are caused by genetic differences due to natural selection, the “hereditarian hypothesis.” This study aims to show conceptual and methodological flaws of past studies supporting the hereditarian hypothesis. Materials and methods Polygenic scores for educational attainment were constructed for African and European samples of the 1000 Genomes Project. Evidence for selection was evaluated using an excess variance test. Education associated variants were further evaluated for signals of selection by testing for excess genetic differentiation (F st ). Expected mean difference in IQ for populations was calculated under a neutral evolutionary scenario and contrasted to hereditarian claims. Results Tests for selection using polygenic scores failed to find evidence of natural selection when the less biased within‐family GWAS effect sizes were used. Tests for selection using F st values did not find evidence of natural selection. Expected mean difference in IQ was substantially smaller than postulated by hereditarians, even under unrealistic assumptions that overestimate genetic contribution. Conclusion Given these results, hereditarian claims are not supported in the least. Cognitive performance does not appear to have been under diversifying selection in Europeans and Africans. In the absence of diversifying selection, the best case estimate for genetic contributions to group differences in cognitive performance is substantially smaller than hereditarians claim and is consistent with genetic differences contributing little to the Black–White gap.