Abstract
Previous research has indicated that education influences cognitive development, but it is unclear what, precisely, is being improved. Here, we tested whether education is associated with cognitive test score improvements via domain-general effects on general cognitive ability (g), or via domain-specific effects on particular cognitive skills. We conducted structural equation modeling on data from a large (n = 1,091), longitudinal sample, with a measure of intelligence at age 11 years and 10 tests covering a diverse range of cognitive abilities taken at age 70. Results indicated that the association of education with improved cognitive test scores is not mediated by g, but consists of direct effects on specific cognitive skills. These results suggest a decoupling of educational gains from increases in general intellectual capacity.
Highlights
How does education affect the development of cognitive ability? A number of studies indicate that educational duration has causal effects on intelligence test performance, but little research has examined the structure of these effects
We addressed Spearman’s hypothesis, testing whether any effects of education on cognitive ability are best understood as a contribution to general intelligence or to specific cognitive skills
We investigated whether education is associated with relative improvements in the g factor extracted from a battery of 10 diverse cognitive tests, or with improvements on only some of those tests
Summary
How does education affect the development of cognitive ability? A number of studies indicate that educational duration has causal effects on intelligence test performance, but little research has examined the structure of these effects. Ceci (1991) provided an extensive review He discussed a study showing that men in a Swedish sample (n ϭ 4,616) with shorter educational durations had lower IQ scores at age 18 years on a military service qualification test than those with matched age 13 IQ scores and similar socioeconomic statuses who stayed in school for longer (Härnqvist, 1968). Education was associated with an average increase of 2.7 points per year on the Armed Forces Qualifying Test, taken in the late teens or early twenties This number was broadly concurrent with a later study by Falch and Sandgren Massih (2011) that analyzed data from the Malmö Longitudinal Study (initial n ϭ 1,547). For studies with similar measures and results see Cliffordson and Gustafsson (2008); Hansen, Heckman, and Mullen (2004); and Stelzl, Merz, Ehlers, and Remer (1995)
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