RETRACTED: Parasite prevalence and the worldwide distribution of cognitive ability
Open accessAbstract
In this study, we hypothesize that the worldwide distribution of cognitive ability is determined in part by variation in the intensity of infectious diseases. From an energetics standpoint, a developing human will have difficulty building a brain and fighting off infectious diseases at the same time, as both are very metabolically costly tasks. Using three measures of average national intelligence quotient (IQ), we found that the zero-order correlation between average IQ and parasite stress ranges from r = −0.76 to r = −0.82 ( p < 0.0001). These correlations are robust worldwide, as well as within five of six world regions. Infectious disease remains the most powerful predictor of average national IQ when temperature, distance from Africa, gross domestic product per capita and several measures of education are controlled for. These findings suggest that the Flynn effect may be caused in part by the decrease in the intensity of infectious diseases as nations develop.
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General cognitive ability is reduced developmentally by parasite stress as a result of a trade-off between investing in general cognitive functioning and immune functioning.
“Eppig et al. (2010) recently argued that general cognitive ability is reduced developmentally by parasite stress as a result of a trade-off between investing in two bioenergetically demanding domains: general cognitive functioning and immune functioning.”
From Parasite-stress promotes in-group assortative sociality: The cases of strong family ties and heightened religiosity (2012) · cites this paper as Eppig et al. (2010)
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Hay fever, hygiene, and household size.
Strachan, D. P. (1989) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.299.6710.1259 · Cited by 5,054 · see citing works
Parasites, democratization, and the liberalization of values across contemporary countries
Thornhill, R., Fincher, C. L., & Aran, D. (2009) · Biological Reviews · doi:10.1111/j.1469-185x.2008.00062.x · Cited by 260 · see citing works
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Vos, T., Flaxman, A. D., Naghavi, M., Lozano, R., Michaud, C., Ezzati, M., Shibuya, K., Salomon, J. A., Abdalla, S., Aboyans, V., et al. (2012) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(12)61729-2 · Cited by 8,291 · see citing works
Semple, B. D., Blomgren, K., Gimlin, K., Ferriero, D. M., & Noble-Haeusslein, L. J. (2013) · Progress in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/j.pneurobio.2013.04.001 · Cited by 2,132 · see citing works
The impoverished gut—a triple burden of diarrhoea, stunting and chronic disease
Guerrant, R. L., DeBoer, M. D., Moore, S. R., Scharf, R. J., & Lima, A. A. M. (2013) · Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology · doi:10.1038/nrgastro.2012.239 · Cited by 604 · see citing works
Fincher, C. L., & Thornhill, R. (2012) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x11000021 · Cited by 526 · see citing works
Self-citationOne Century of Global IQ Gains: A Formal Meta-Analysis of the Flynn Effect (1909–2013)
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Biogeographic Ancestry, Cognitive Ability and Socioeconomic Outcomes
Kirkegaard, E., Woodley of Menie, M., Williams, R., Fuerst, J., & Meisenberg, G. (2019) · Psych · doi:10.3390/psych1010001 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
- Authors
- Eppig, C., Fincher, C. L., & Thornhill, R.
- Affiliations
- University of New Mexico (US)
- ORCID
- Fincher, Corey L.
- Venue
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Published
- 2010-06-30
- Volume
- 277
- Issue
- 1701
- Pages
- 3801-3808
- ISSN
- 0080-4649 (ISSN-L)
- 0962-8452
- 1471-2954
- PMC
- PMC2992705
- OpenAlex
- W2149066259
- Cited by
- 313
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 41 · 2019: 29 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 32 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 52
- FWCI
- 41.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Status
- Retracted
- Update notices
- retraction (2024-03-06)
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Social Sciences › Demography › Culture, Economy, and Development Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Keywords
- parasite stress, cognitive ability, Flynn effect, gross domestic product, temperature
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Cognition, Communicable Diseases, Education, Humans, Intelligence, Parasites, Temperature, Prevalence, Linear Models
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