Brain size and cognitive ability: Correlations with age, sex, social class, and race (Publication with Expression of Concern)

被引:131
作者
Rushton, JP
Ankney, CD
机构
[1] University of Western Ontario, London, Ont.
[2] Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London
关键词
D O I
10.3758/BF03210739
中图分类号
B841 [心理学研究方法];
学科分类号
040201 ;
摘要
Using data from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), autopsy, endocranial measurements, and other techniques, we show that (1) brain size is correlated with cognitive ability about.44 using MRI; (2) brain size varies by age, sex, social class, and race; and (3) cognitive ability varies by age, sex, social class, and race. Brain size and cognitive ability show a curvilinear relation with age, increasing to young adulthood and then decreasing; increasing from women to men; increasing with socio-economic status; and increasing from Africans to Europeans to Asians. Although only further research can determine if such correlations represent cause and effect, it is clear that the direction of the brain-size/cognitive-ability relationships described by Paul Broca (1824-1880), Francis Galton (1822-1911), and other nineteenth-century visionaries is true, and that the null hypothesis of no relation, strongly advocated over the last half century, is false.
引用
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页码:21 / 36
页数:16
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