Cited by 580Health disparities and outcomesPublic Health and Social InequalitiesCognitive Abilities and Testing

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Intelligence: is it the epidemiologists’ elusive “fundamental cause” of social class inequalities in health?

Gottfredson, Linda S.·2004·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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Abstract

Virtually all indicators of physical health and mental competence favor persons of higher socioeconomic status (SES). Conventional theories in the social sciences assume that the material disadvantages of lower SES are primarily responsible for these inequalities, either directly or by inducing psychosocial harm. These theories cannot explain, however, why the relation between SES and health outcomes (knowledge, behavior, morbidity, and mortality) is not only remarkably general across time, place, disease, and kind of health system but also so finely graded up the entire SES continuum. Epidemiologists have therefore posited, but not yet identified, a more general "fundamental cause" of health inequalities. This article concatenates various bodies of evidence to demonstrate that differences in general intelligence (g) may be that fundamental cause.

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How many pathways underlie socioeconomic differences in the development of cognition and achievement?
Tucker–Drob, E. M. (2013) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2013.01.015 · Cited by 48
“…including better wages and employment, lower teenage pregnancy, less smoking, lower law-breaking, and greater overall health, longevity, and subjective well-being (Cunha & Heckman, 2009; Deary, 2008; Goldman & Smith, 2002; Gottfredson, 2004; Sackett, Kuncel, Arneson, Cooper, & Waters, 2009).”
Background
Reassessing the relationship between general intelligence and self-control in childhood
Meldrum, R. C., Petkovsek, M. A., Boutwell, B. B., & Young, J. T. N. (2016) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2016.10.005 · Cited by 46
“Everything from health (Batty, Deary, & Gottfredson, 2007; Gottfredson, 2004; Luciano et al., 2010; Schou, Østergaard, Rasmussen, Rydahl-Hansen, & Phanareth, 2012), and mortality (Batty et al., 2009; Batty, Wennerstad, Smith, Gunnell, Deary, et al., 2007; Whalley & Deary, 2001), to occupational and…”
The Flynn Effect in the Caribbean: Generational Change of Cognitive Test Performance in Dominica
Meisenberg, G., Lawless, E., Lambert, E., & Newton, A. (2005) · Mankind Quarterly · doi:10.46469/mq.2005.46.1.2 · Cited by 42
Adolescent IQ and survival in the Wisconsin longitudinal study.
Hauser, R. M., & Palloni, A. (2011) · The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · doi:10.1093/geronb/gbr037 · Cited by 38
Cognitive Ability in Personnel Selection Decisions
Öneş, D. S., Viswesvaran, C., & Dilchert, S. (2017) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781405164221.ch7 · Cited by 44
Intelligence and uncertainty: Implications of hierarchical predictive processing for the neuroscience of cognitive ability
Euler, M. J. (2018) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.08.013 · Cited by 42
“Psychologically, it is likely the very breadth of intelligence that accounts for its potency and relevance (Gottfredson, 2004); however, this same breadth complicates efforts to isolate its”
Background
Does childhood intelligence predict variation in cognitive change in later life?
Bourne, V. J., Fox, H. C., Deary, I. J., & Whalley, L. J. (2006) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2006.10.030 · Cited by 41
“Also, while such methods aim to provide an estimate of cognitive ability in earlier adult life, there is evidence that various lifestyle factors (e.g., smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, diet) may affect cognitive abilities, even in early adulthood (see Gottfredson, 2004 ).”
Background
A Life-History Model of Human Fitness Indicators
Sefcek, J. A., & Figueredo, A. J. (2010) · Biodemography and Social Biology · doi:10.1080/19485561003709214 · Cited by 40
“A related argument has been made by Gottfredson (2004), implying that the systematic differences in general intelligence are the hidden but " fundamental " cause of the observed health differences among social classes, rather than merely an indicator of higher genetic fitness.”
Reserve and Reserve-building activities research: key challenges and future directions
Schwartz, C. E., Rapkin, B. D., & Healy, B. C. (2016) · BMC Neuroscience · doi:10.1186/s12868-016-0297-0 · Cited by 40
“Finally, educational attainment used on its own is confounded by other factors, such as socioeconomic status [32] or “school smart” intelligence [33].”
Background
An Evaluation (and Vindication?) of Lewis Terman: What the Father of Gifted Education Can Teach the 21st Century
Warne, R. T. (2018) · Gifted Child Quarterly · doi:10.1177/0016986218799433 · Cited by 52
The association of cognitive performance with mental health and physical functioning strengthens with age: the Whitehall II cohort study
Jokela, M. M., Singh‐Manoux, A., Ferrie, J. E., Gimeno, D., Akbaraly, T. N., Shipley, M. J., Head, J. A., Elovainio, M. J., Marmot, M. G., & Mika Kivimaki, B. (2009) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291709991024 · Cited by 39
“2007), and the emerging field of cognitive epidemiology has begun to explore the role of cognitive ability in physical health and disease outcomes (Gottfredson, 2004 ; Deary & Batty, 2007).”
Associations between childhood intelligence (IQ), adult morbidity and mortality
Kilgour, A. H. M., Starr, J. M., & Whalley, L. J. (2009) · Maturitas · doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2009.09.021 · Cited by 41
Cognitive Regeneration or Enhancement: the Ethical Issues
Chan, S., & Harris, J. (2006) · Regenerative Medicine · doi:10.2217/17460751.1.3.361 · Cited by 38
Diabetes and life-long cognitive ability
Mõttus, R., Luciano, M., Starr, J. M., & Deary, I. J. (2013) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2013.06.032 · Cited by 42
Pathfinder: a gamified measure to integrate general cognitive ability into the biological, medical, and behavioural sciences
Malanchini, M., Rimfeld, K., Gidziela, A., Cheesman, R., Allegrini, A. G., Shakeshaft, N. G., Schofield, K. L., Packer, A. E., Ogden, R., McMillan, A. J., et al. (2021) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41380-021-01300-0 · Cited by 38
Should we enhance animals?
Chan, S. (2009) · Journal of Medical Ethics · doi:10.1136/jme.2009.029512 · Cited by 41
“In fact, studies have shown that human intelligence, at least as measured by conventional methods, is positively correlated with socioeconomic success, health and longevity [46-48], all of which are normative goods.”
Difference Matters: Teaching Students a Contextual Theory of Difference Can Help Them Succeed
Stephens, N. M., Hamedani, M. G., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2019) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691618797957 · Cited by 45
“Throughout history, similar arguments have been used to rationalize the subordination of the poor or working class (e.g., Gottfredson, 2004), as well as women and sexual minorities (see Bem, 1993; Fausto-Sterling, 1985; Russett, 1989).”
Method
Is body mass index in old age related to cognitive abilities? The Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 Study.
Corley, J., Gow, A. J., Starr, J. M., & Deary, I. J. (2010) · Psychology and Aging · doi:10.1037/a0020301 · Cited by 37
“On the basis of recent epidemiological evidence, Gottfredson (2004) suggested that IQ may be the single, most important factor in the adoption of health behaviors and maintaining a healthy body weight.”
Personality in Late Midlife
Mortensen, E. L., Flensborg‐Madsen, T., Molbo, D., Christensen, U., Osler, M., Avlund, K., & Lund, R. (2014) · Journal of Aging and Health · doi:10.1177/0898264313519317 · Cited by 37
“Cognitive ability is often found to be more strongly associated with demographic factors and health than personality (Calvin et al., 2011; Gottfredson, 2004), and to some extent, demographic factors may explain correlations between personality, cognition, and health (Gottfredson & Deary, 2004).”
Background
Information Framing Effect on Public’s Intention to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccination in China
Peng, L., Guo, Y., & Hu, D. (2021) · Vaccines · doi:10.3390/vaccines9090995 · Cited by 37
Sex differences in mental ability: A proposed means to link them to brain structure and function
Johnson, W., & Bouchard, T. J. (2006) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2006.07.003 · Cited by 37
Can universal pre-kindergarten programs improve population health and longevity? Mechanisms, evidence, and policy implications
Muennig, P. A. (2014) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.08.033 · Cited by 35
Of what value is intelligence
Gottfredson, L. S. (2008) · Time to knit · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-373626-0.00015-4 · Cited by 36
Self-citation
Consequences in Health Status and Costs
Muennig, P. A. (2007) · doi:10.7916/d87w6cj5 · Cited by 37
High IQ in Early Adolescence and Career Success in Adulthood: Findings from a Swedish Longitudinal Study
Bergman, L. R., Corovic, J., Ferrer‐Wreder, L., & Modig, K. (2014) · Research in Human Development · doi:10.1080/15427609.2014.936261 · Cited by 35
“Such a test loads heavily on the g factor, also called generalized intelligence (Gottfredson, 2004; Jensen, 1998).”
Background
g in middle childhood: Moderate genetic and shared environmental influence using diverse measures of general cognitive ability at 7, 9 and 10 years in a large population sample of twins
Davis, O. S. P., Arden, R., & Plomin, R. J. (2007) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2007.01.006 · Cited by 35
The rise of the machines and how they impact workers' psychological health: An empirical study
Stamate, A. N., Sauvé, G., & Denis, P. L. (2021) · Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies · doi:10.1002/hbe2.315 · Cited by 44
The pathways from parental and neighbourhood socioeconomic status to adolescent educational attainment: An examination of the role of cognitive ability, teacher assessment, and educational expectations
Weinberg, D., Stevens, G. W. J. M., Finkenauer, C., Brunekreef, B., Smit, H. A., & Wijga, A. H. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0216803 · Cited by 39
Commentary: How does socioeconomic disadvantage during childhood damage health in adulthood? Testing psychosocial pathways
Poulton, R., & Caspi, A. (2005) · International Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ije/dyi044 · Cited by 33
Intelligence, education, and mortality
Batty, G. D., Mika Kivimaki, B., & Deary, I. J. (2010) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.c563 · Cited by 35
“Recently, Linda Gottfredson proposed that intelligence might be “the epidemiologists’ elusive ‘fundamental cause’ of social class inequalities in health.””
Background
Health, Disease and Healthcare in Africa
Aikins, A. D., & Marks, D. F. (2007) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/1359105307076228 · Cited by 32
“Gottfredson (2004) has also suggested that general intelligence is a ‘fundamental cause’ of the health gradient because individuals in higher social classes tend to be more intelligent on average than those in lower social classes.”
Background
Suppressing Intelligence Research: Hurting Those We Intend to Help
(2013) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203956229-19 · Cited by 31

Authors: Gottfredson, L. S.
Affiliations: University of Delaware (US)
Corresponding author: Gottfredson, Linda S.
ORCID: Gottfredson, Linda S.
Venue: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 2004
Volume: 86
Issue: 1
Pages: 174-199
ISSN: 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
1939-1315
DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.86.1.174
OpenAlex: W2141185279
Cited by: 580
References: 189
Citations by year: 2026: 3 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 31 · 2018: 39 · 2017: 32 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 30 · 2014: 34 · 2013: 32 · 2012: 21
FWCI: 28.15
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
Social Sciences › Health › Public Health and Social Inequalities
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
Keywords: intelligence, socioeconomic status, health disparities, fundamental causes, psychosocial factors, material disadvantage
MeSH terms: Age Factors, Health Status, Humans, Intelligence, Social Class

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Intelligence: is it the epidemiologists’ elusive “fundamental cause” of social class inequalities in health?

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