ABSTRACT
A common assumption is that an Intelligence quotient (IQ) score reflects a child's potential in the sense that it measures a fixed, innate ability. There are a multitude of possible causes, for instance he or she comes from a broken home; he or she is from a large family living in overcrowded conditions; the parents are not interested; he or she is a member of an ethnic minority. Most workers in this field would argue that poor performance involves a whole complex of factors which broadly fall into biological and social categories. However it is likely that genetic factors, damage during development in the womb, and poor nutrition after birth may all play a part. It is known, for example, that differences in IQ are correlated with differences in social class or socioeconomic status, but many psychologists have argued that these may partly reflect genetic rather than environmental differences between the classes.
