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ERIC Number: EJ729870
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 19
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0160-2896
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Temperature, Skin Color, Per Capita Income, and IQ: An International Perspective
Templer, Donald I.; Arikawa, Hiroko
Intelligence, v34 n2 p121-139 Mar-Apr 2006
The impetus for our study was the contention of both Lynn [Lynn, R. (1991) "Race differences in intelligence: A global perspective." "Mankind Quarterly," 31, 255-296] and Rushton [Rushton, J. P. (1995). "Race, evolution and behavior: A life history perspective." New Brunswick, NJ: "Transaction"; Rushton, J. P. (1997). "Race, intelligence, and the brain: The errors and omissions of the revised edition of S.J. Gould's the mismeasurement of man." "Personality and Individual Differences," 23, 169-180; Rushton, J. P. (2000). "Race, evolution, and behavior. A life history perspective" (3rd edition). Port Huron: Charles Darwin Research Institute] that persons in colder climates tend to have higher IQs than persons in warmer climates. We correlated mean IQ of 129 countries with per capita income, skin color, and winter and summer temperatures, conceptualizing skin color as a multigenerational reflection of climate. The highest correlations were -0.92 (rho = -0.91) for skin color, -0.76 (rho = -0.76) for mean high winter temperature, -0.66 (rho = -0.68) for mean low winter temperature, and 0.63 (rho = 0.74) for real gross domestic product per capita. The correlations with population of country controlled for are almost identical. Our findings provide strong support for the observation of Lynn and of Rushton that persons in colder climates tend to have higher IQs. These findings could also be viewed as congruent with, although not providing unequivocal evidence for, the contention that higher intelligence evolves in colder climates. The finding of higher IQ in Eurasians than Africans could also be viewed as congruent with the position of Diamond (1997) that knowledge and resources are transmitted more readily on the Eurasian west-east axis.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A