{"id":13067,"date":"2024-07-05T19:56:02","date_gmt":"2024-07-05T19:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/used82.com\/?p=13067"},"modified":"2024-07-05T19:56:02","modified_gmt":"2024-07-05T19:56:02","slug":"identical-twins-separated-as-toddlers-and-raised-in-the-us-and-korea-have-striking-iq-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/used82.com\/?p=13067","title":{"rendered":"Identical twins separated as toddlers and raised in the US and Korea have \u2018striking\u2019 IQ difference"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scientists decided to test the the twins as adults after they had been apart for decades<\/h2>\n

The nature vs nurture debate got a little more interesting when scientists tested two identical twin as adults who were raised in completely different countries.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A bizarre turn of events saw the two twin girls separated as toddlers – and it was only years later they were reunited.<\/p>\n

The girls were born in 1974 in Seoul,\u00a0South Korea<\/a>, where they lived together with their\u00a0parents<\/a> until they were two.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, while at the market with their maternal grandmother, one of the twins got separated from the rest of the family and got lost.<\/p>\n

Strangers eventually spotted the girl, and she was taken to a hospital approximately 100 miles from her home, before going to live with a foster mother.<\/p>\n

The twin had no recollection of being lost, and she was eventually transferred to an adoption agency who then organized her adoption by a family in the\u00a0US<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fast-forward a few decades to 2018, when the lost twin submitted a DNA sample as part of a program in South Korea to reunite family members.<\/p>\n

Her DNA went into the system, and in October 2020, she learned that not only was she a twin, but a sibling to a brother and another sister.<\/p>\n

\n
\"The<\/div>\n

The two girls lived together with their parents until they were two (Getty Stock Image)<\/cite><\/div>\n

Following her discovery, researchers from both the US and South Korea administered tests and interviews to the twins to assess their intelligence, personality profiles,\u00a0mental health<\/a>, and medical history.<\/p>\n

Overall, the researchers found the makeup of the twins’ personality was similar and ‘consistent with literature on moderate genetic influences on personality in adulthood’.<\/p>\n

This came in spite of the fact that the twin raised in Korea reported having a harmonious family home, while the sister in the US experienced conflict and the divorce of her adopted parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cNotable is that both twins are distinctively high on Conscientiousness, indicating that both are purposeful, well-organized, dutiful, and achievement-striving,” the researchers wrote in the findings, which were published in the journal ‘Personality and Individual Differences’.<\/p>\n

The similarities between the pair helps to highlight the role of genetics in developing personality – though the researchers were surprised to find ‘substantial differences’ in the IQ of each twin.<\/p>\n

\n
\"The<\/div>\n

The sisters had a difference in IQ (Getty Stock Image)<\/cite><\/div>\n

Previous studies of identical twins indicated an average IQ difference of no more than seven points – however, the results in this case found that the twin raised in the US had an IQ 16 points lower than her sister.<\/p>\n

“It is striking that the twins showed substantial differences in cognitive abilities that have been linked to strong genetic influence,” the researchers wrote.<\/p>\n

The gap between when the twins were separated and when the tests were conducted makes it hard to say whether their upbringings were responsible for the difference in IQ – though the study did note that the sister raised in the US had suffered three concussions in her life, which may have impacted her cognitive capacities.<\/p>\n

Differences which could be more clearly linked to their upbringing included their ideological outlook, with the sister raised in the US adopting a more individualist view, while the sister who remained in Korea had more collectivist values.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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