Is Education Associated with Improvements in General Cognitive Ability, or in Specific Skills?
Ritchie, S. J., Bates, T. C., & Deary, I. J. · 2015
grade Blongitudinalindependentunreplicated
Sample
1,091 (Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, tested at age 11 and age 70)
Population
Scottish cohort with cognitive測 measurement at ages 11 and 70.
Design
Structural equation modelling testing whether education's effect on later cognition runs through g or through specific skills.
Key findings
Resolves the apparent contradiction between 'schooling raises IQ' and 'nothing durably raises g'. Education's durable cognitive benefit is on specific, taught skills — not on the general factor. This distinction is load-bearing for the whole database and should not be blurred.
Genetic confound
Longitudinal with age-11 cognitive baseline — unusually strong control for prior ability.
Replication notes
The key qualifier on Ritchie & Tucker-Drob (2018): education raises test scores without raising the general factor.
DOI / URL
10.1037/a0038981
Effects
| Outcome | Metric | Value | Measure | Timing | Vs | Horizon | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education's association with later cognitive ability | mediation | NOT mediated by g; consists of direct effects on SPECIFIC skills | standardized | adult | none | adulthood | domain-skill |
Cited by
- Test preparation — does coaching raise scores, and does a raised score mean raised ability?mixedconf: mediumgc: medium
- The early home environment — what parents can and cannot causally movemixedconf: highgc: low