Intelligence and class mobility in the British population

Performance on intelligence tests is known to be associated with class mobility, with high scorers tending to move up the socio‐economic hierarchy, and low scorers tending to move down. However, much remains unknown about the association. It is possible that the importance of intelligence varies acr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The British journal of psychology 2003-11, Vol.94 (4), p.551-561
Main Author: Nettle, Daniel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child development
Class
Class differentiation
Class mobility
Cohort analysis
Developmental psychology
England
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Intelligence
Intelligence Tests
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Meritocracy
Mobility
Occupations
Population
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Social Class
Social classes
Social disadvantage
Social mobility
Social status
Social success
United Kingdom
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Summary:Performance on intelligence tests is known to be associated with class mobility, with high scorers tending to move up the socio‐economic hierarchy, and low scorers tending to move down. However, much remains unknown about the association. It is possible that the importance of intelligence varies across different occupational areas, or that there is friction acting against mobility, such that a person from an underprivileged background would have to be more intelligent in order to reach a given position than someone who had had greater social advantage. Data from a longitudinal study of a broad, socially representative cohort of the British population (the NCDS) are used to investigate these questions. The results show that intelligence test scores in childhood are associated with class mobility in adulthood uniformly across all social classes. There is no evidence that those from underprivileged backgrounds have to be disproportionately able in order to reach the professional classes. The study reveals an apparently high level of social mobility and meritocracy in contemporary Britain.
ISSN:0007-1269
2044-8295
DOI:10.1348/000712603322503097