<P> Chipuer et al. and Loehlin conclude that the postnatal rather than the prenatal environment is most important . The Devlin et al. (1997a) conclusion that the prenatal environment contributes to twin IQ similarity is especially remarkable given the existence of an extensive empirical literature on prenatal effects . Price (1950), in a comprehensive review published over 50 years ago, argued that almost all MZ twin prenatal effects produced differences rather than similarities . As of 1950 the literature on the topic was so large that the entire bibliography was not published . It was finally published in 1978 with an additional 260 references . At that time Price reiterated his earlier conclusion (Price, 1978). Research subsequent to the 1978 review largely reinforces Price's hypothesis (Bryan, 1993; Macdonald et al., 1993; Hall and Lopez - Rangel, 1996; see also Martin et al., 1997, box 2; Machin, 1996). </P> <P> Dickens and Flynn (2001) argued that the "heritability" figure includes both a direct effect of the genotype on IQ and also indirect effects where the genotype changes the environment, in turn affecting IQ . That is, those with a higher IQ tend to seek out stimulating environments that further increase IQ . The direct effect can initially have been very small but feedback loops can create large differences in IQ . In their model an environmental stimulus can have a very large effect on IQ, even in adults, but this effect also decays over time unless the stimulus continues . This model could be adapted to include possible factors, like nutrition in early childhood, that may cause permanent effects . </P> <P> The Flynn effect is the increase in average intelligence test scores by about 0.3% annually, resulting in the average person today scoring 15 points higher in IQ compared to the generation 50 years ago . This effect can be explained by a generally more stimulating environment for all people . The authors suggest that programs aiming to increase IQ would be most likely to produce long - term IQ gains if they taught children how to replicate outside the program the kinds of cognitively demanding experiences that produce IQ gains while they are in the program and motivate them to persist in that replication long after they have left the program . Most of the improvements have allowed for better abstract reasoning, spatial relations, and comprehension . Some scientists have suggested that such enhancements are due to better nutrition, better parenting and schooling, as well as exclusion of the least intelligent, genetically inferior, people from reproduction . However, Flynn and a group of other scientists share the viewpoint that modern life implies solving many abstract problems which leads to a rise in their IQ scores . </P> <P> More recent research has illuminated genetic factors underlying IQ stability and change . Genome - wide association studies have demonstrated that the genes involved in intelligence remain fairly stable over time . Specifically, in terms of IQ stability, "genetic factors mediated phenotypic stability throughout this entire period (age 0 to 16), whereas most age - to - age instability appeared to be due to non-shared environmental influences". These findings have been replicated extensively and observed in the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Netherlands . Additionally, researchers have shown that naturalistic changes in IQ occur in individuals at variable times . </P>

In the minnesota study the heritability estimate for iq was 70