A stimulating, caring environment filled with many new experiences will enhance a child s intelligence, just as the opposite environment will stunt a child s intellectual growth. Also, we know that that a stimulating physical environment in turn stimulates dendritic branching in the brain, enhancing opportunities for the brain s electrochemical communication. These biological explanations point to the interaction of nature and nurture as the basis for intelligence. As with all intelligence tests, personality factors will have an impact on the validity of the measurement. Things like motivation, interest, and tolerance for frustration, as well as situational aspects during the evaluation, will play a part.
Gender differences play a part to the extent that they are a reflection of nurture.
There would be systematic differences between groups of people assessed using this test. But because I would try to focus many subtests on abilities other than those learned in school, the differences would hopefully be fewer. However, in doing so I would use vignettes, and these might be prone to cultural and ethnic bias. For instance, a vignette referring to a real-life situation in the United States has almost no pertinence to the Mbuti population in the Congo. Also, a vignette written with a situation typical for a white teenager growing up in Woodstock, Connecticut would have very little relevance for an African American teenager growing up in Los Angeles.