ABSTRACT
We have seen that IQ is sensitive to differing qualities of experience along the life span. The implication is that the enrichment of experience can influence intelligence positively—that intelligence can, in fact, be cultivated. The idea is not new: In 1949, Hebb inquired rhetorically, “Why then should we object to the idea that enriching an inadequate environment will raise the IQ?” (1949, p. 295). Interventions designed to enhance cognitive abilities have also existed for some time. A century ago, Thorndike and Woodworth (1901) tested the improvability and transfer of attention, observation, and discrimination functions; as early as 1925, interventions were designed to counteract the effects of poverty on cognition (Detterman, 1982).
