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Does Learning to Read Improve Intelligence? A Longitudinal Multivariate Analysis in Identical Twins From Age 7 to 16
Author(s) -
Ritchie Stuart J.,
Bates Timothy C.,
Plomin Robert
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.12272
Subject(s) - psychology , reading (process) , developmental psychology , intelligence quotient , cognition , twin study , cognitive development , monozygotic twin , test (biology) , cognitive psychology , verbal reasoning , multivariate analysis , longitudinal study , statistics , mathematics , heritability , neuroscience , machine learning , biology , computer science , genetics , paleontology , political science , law
Evidence from twin studies points to substantial environmental influences on intelligence, but the specifics of this influence are unclear. This study examined one developmental process that potentially causes intelligence differences: learning to read. In 1,890 twin pairs tested at 7, 9, 10, 12, and 16 years, a cross‐lagged monozygotic‐differences design was used to test for associations of earlier within‐pair reading ability differences with subsequent intelligence differences. The results showed several such associations, which were not explained by differences in reading exposure and were not restricted to verbal cognitive domains. The study highlights the potentially important influence of reading ability, driven by the nonshared environment, on intellectual development and raises theoretical questions about the mechanism of this influence.